Pretty Willie : When The Fairy Tale Ends
by Cuz I'm Nice Like That
Summary: Set 3 Years in the future from the last finale of Pretty Willie. Will include 2 seasons of drama packed goodness  D Rating is for language! Enjoy!...When the fairytale is over and real life begins...
1. Je T'aime Aussi

_It has been two months exactly and I know, I know you may have wanted to know where I have been =P Working on a High School Diploma and an Associate's Degree is, I know this may surprise you, but it is difficult lol. I took some time to…rediscover myself as a writer…Re-determine my incentives…My reason for Writing. I revised my style….I changed my outlook and evaluated these characters and hopefully you will take note. As the story goes on, you'll notice an uptick in description, change in syntaz and hopefully you will like it. To eliminate Reader anxiety and Writer stress I am deciding that I will update on every Tuesday at around 9 and Saturday around 12 pending review amount...guys it makes a difference…Today was just a bad day becasue I could not update when I wanted to but do look for an update on Saturday and next Tuesday. I have missed you all terribly and I just want to thank you all again for your support during the first edition of __**Pretty Willie **__and I hope that you all will enjoy this rendition as well. Enjoy =D Happy Holidays!_

_**-NWJ**_

_3 Years Later_

A smirk came across his face as he watched her exit the bathroom, steam following her after taking, what he knew was, a hot shower. She paid him no mind, standing at her nightstand, flipping through her calendar and going over her things to do for the next day before his arms met around her waist. His head settled next to her bout of curls while his fingers lingered around the silk that stood between his touch and the land known as her body that he now called his own. "_Vous êtes si sexy."_

"_Je sais que je suis sexy." _She replied simply, knowing that it would get his gears going, sparking a turn on that he had recently acquired. After immersing himself in the French culture and learning the language, he found that the appeal of France went deeper than what he had previously perceived. And hearing her speak the language, the brush of her tongue against the point of her teeth. The pout of her lips pursing to form perfect little _'o's _of annunciation...It drove him mad.

He moved his attention to that of her neck, running kisses down the nape with tantalizing sensitivity that sent a rivet up her spine. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"You smell good."

"I know that I smell good."

"You're so beautiful."

"You're not getting any."

He gasped and she laughed, knowing what he would do next, only she was wrong. Instead of giving up, she then found herself pinned to their bedspread and under his hold, her guard slowly coming down as her body began to succumb to his touch yet her mind was yet to catch up.

"Speaking of...Things...we're supposed to do..." She spoke between the brushes of his lips against hers as his hands traveled up her leg, stopping at her thigh when she spoke. "Did you measure my closet yet because you said-"

"Willie." He hovered over her, smiling at her seriousness as she stared back at him, eyes narrowed over being interrupted. "I built you a house...from the ground up...Because every house we looked at either skeeved you out or the closet was too small...Now your closet is bigger than the living and dining room combined."

"More like the kitchen and the living r-"

"Willie..."

"Sorry...Continue."

"Thank You." He smiled graciously before returning to his finger folly and the fooling around he attempted to use to get her in the mood.

Wilhelmina, immersed in the moment, looked over the shoulder that hovered over her just as Daniel began to make the bold move to pull up her negligee. Before she could join him in the moment, her eye was caught by a certain 2 foot visitor. She watched as the tears formed in his eyes and his bottom lip poked out, breaking her heart.

"Daniel!" She called out but he was too into her body. "Daniel!" This time she swatted him and he rolled off.

"What's wrong?" He questioned, out of breath after getting so into the moment.

"Daddy's not hurting mommy, sweetie I promise." Wilhelmina clarified, seeing Izak clutch at his giraffe, fear in his eyes.

"Lie." He mumbled, still in the doorway wearing his ocean footie pajamas that brought out his sharp blue eyes.

"Oh, hey buddy..." Daniel chuckled nervously, immediately rolling off of Wilhelmina to make sure it didn't look like he was hurting her either.

"Bad Daddy."

"Daddy's not bad buddy...Daddy was just...satisfying himself...with mommy."

"Daniel!" Wilhelmina hit his chest, making him shriek. She shook her head, not believing that he had just told a 3 year old that he was using his mother to satisfy himself.

"Bud, just go back to bed...Mommy is fine...Right mommy?" Daniel tapped her arm and Wilhelmina exclaimed dramatically, swatting him back.

"Ouch Daniel, damn..." She mumbled after her retaliation.

"You make her say ouch...again." Izak retorted, toddling over to Wilhelmina's side of the bed.

"Again?" Daniel questioned.

"Last week...He caught us...you...satisfying yourself..." She hinted, chuckling a bit at the term.

"Buddy mommy is fine..."

Izak looked to Wilhelmina and she smiled and nodded, touching his cheek. He shrugged and still climbed onto their bed, crawling in between them. "Bad Wean."

"Did he say Bad Weenie?" Daniel asked.

"Would you get your mind out of the gutter for two seconds please?"

"Bad Wean!" Izak clarified before cuddling up to Wilhelmina as if to stay.

"No, bud...you have to sleep in your room tonight..."

"No." He spoke quickly as Wilhelmina got comfortable, not really minding.

"Izak."

"No."

"Izak Tristan."

"No."

"I-"

"Daniel just let him stay...I'm tired anyway." Wilhelmina commented. Daniel sighed, seeing the exhaustion in her eyes. Sure she could handle Mode by herself and she had been doing so for the last 3 years but it was always a handful, especially with Claire over her shoulder as Vice President of the company.

"Fine." Daniel gave up, pulling the covers over his legs before leaning over to kiss them goodnight. "Night bud." He kissed Izak's head. "Love you, baby." He moved towards Wilhelmina and his lips were halted by a small, light tan hand that covered his mouth. "Izak." Daniel spoke with a muffle through Izak's fingers.

"No hurt mommy tonight."

"I was not hurting mommy, I was ki-"

"No hurt mommy!"

Daniel looked to Wilhelmina who was holding her ribs with laughter; tickled to death over her little 3 and a half year old's protective issues, especially with his own father. Daniel huffed and turned around, feeling a little hurt and a little exiled by Izak's recent attachment to Willie and distance from him. Yet all of these feelings that were stirred up soon died down when he felt a tender presence, massaging the lobe of his ear. She knew it was a soft spot for him and something that always made him smile to know that she didn't forget.

"_Je t'aime."_

He smiled, reaching his hand across the bed to hold hers before speaking again, the only thing needing to be said at that point.

_"Je t'aime aussi."_

**OoO**

"C'mon Bud let's eat." Daniel instructed, holding his larger plate next to Izak's small bowl before setting it on the table of the breakfast nook. Izak smiled, climbing onto the chair, first on his knees. "On your bottom." Izak looked up and Daniel sighed. "Fine, but when you mess up your pants, you're telling mommy." Izak changed his position, sitting like he was told to before being handed his breakfast: Eggs, Toast and a small sausage. "Maybe if mommy sees you eating, she will do it too..." He mumbled under his breath, subconsciously concerned for the state of her well-being and the fact that she rarely ate one meal a day let alone three.

"Mommy?" Daniel's eyes scrolled over to where Izak was now pointing.

"Mommy!" Daniel mocked, waiting to see if she would respond seeing how she walked right passed them and into the kitchen, a look reminiscent of a zombie on her face.

"Mommy is not awake." Wilhelmina replied sleepily from inside the kitchen, drowsiness hinting in her voice.

Daniel chuckled, setting his plate down on the table before re-entering the main part of the kitchen. Wilhelmina was leaned over, elbows propped up on the steel counters as they held up her head. He came behind her, the presence of his hand rubbing circles on her back being familiar.

"You okay?"

"I'm exhausted." She replied, only wanting to crawl back in their bed and hit the sack.

"Why?"

"The Mode Summer issue is killing me and it wouldn't be so bad had the staff I work with, not been so damn incompetent."

"Sweeeeer Jar!"

Daniel laughed, hearing Izak from the other room, now knowing that he was listening. "It's okay Bud, Mommy can swear in the morning."

"And on top of all that...Your mother is breathing down my neck like an old, bottle blonde mole!"

"Well she is the vice President."

"For whatever reason..."

"Willie...Just soldier through it." He kissed her cheek and she stood up straight, still exhausted. "Besides, I made you breakfast."

"That's easy for you to say...You sit in your big ass office all day on the top floor, doing what?"

"Hey, I do stuff."

"Playing Ping-Pong with the wall does not count."

"Willie." He looked to the coffee maker, turning it off before handing her a cup. "I know it's hard but Mode is our flagship and it has to be perfect...Speaking of perfect...I took a look at the book...yesterday."

"Daniel!" She swatted him angrily. "You're not supposed to see the book before it's done!"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." He snickered under his breath, seeing how riled up she got over the smallest thing being the Mode book.

"Well..." She took a sip of java, letting the warmth wake her up a bit. "Since you already saw it...How was it?"

He looked up, moving away slowly. "Uh...It was...It was alright."

"Alright?"

"Yeah..."

"Do you know how long I spent working on that? How many late nights I pulled people I threatened and fired...do you many how many lawsuits you are probably going to get on your desk?"

"Willie I just didn't...like it...It didn't pop like it usually does..."

"I'm done." Wilhelmina set her cup down on the counter, nearly slamming it. "You Meades and your unsolicited opinions are really starting to piss. Me. OFF!"

"Unsolicited? You asked me-"

Wilhelmina left the room, kissing Izak's head before storming back upstairs, not dealing with the possibility that what she had worked on for so long could actually suck and might not be the masterpiece that she thought it was. And the fact the Claire Meade might actually be right...Made it even worse.

**OoO**

"This morning you have a 10 o'clock with the people from Valentino to discuss ad negotiations and then at 11 you will be going to the Chrysler building to meet with the reps from Land Rover because they want to advertise with Mode. At 12 you have a fabu lunch with Marc Jacobs and don't forget to kiss his ass so that in September when you ask him to show his new line at the Mode Fashion show, it won't be a favor, it will be payback. At 2, Izak's daycare will be dropping him off and he'll stay with Wilhelmina until your meeting with _S'tag_ and _Star _is over. Then you'll take him for 3 hours while she goes to Long Island for a Photo shoot. Your luggage for the 3 day Paris trip this month is packed and ready, and your ticket is confirmed..."

"Did you send Wilhelmina her flowers this Monday?"

"Yup, Semper Augustus'"

"10,000 dollar flowers?"

"You said the best..."

Daniel walked off, seeing an ad buyer and Amanda fell back, seeing Marc swinging happily on his desk. "Hey Marcy..." She smirked, seeing the grin on his face. "Ohhhh, who put the pig in your blanket?" She questioned, seeing his expression of joy.

"Oh no one..."He shook his head before swinging his arm around so that she could see. "Except my new fiancée!"

Amanda screamed, drawing all the attention to them as she held out his hand, now shinier with the new addition of a diamond. Daniel looked over and gave them a look, disturbed by the sound. Amanda composed herself, giving him one last hug. "Oh my Gosh, Marc this is amazing."

"I know this ring is huge right?"

"I mean if you can find love..."

"Hey! I'm a 10..."

Amanda smiled, taking a hand down his face. "Awl sweetie...You're a six."

"You're a Bitch."

"I know...Being around Wilhelmina so much is beginning to rub off on me..." Amanda nodded. "Isn't it weird how Dr. Smith's name is Daniel...I dare you to walk up to Wilhelmina and tell her that you slept with Daniel, just to see the look on her face."

"I don't know..." Marc grimaced, peaking at her office from the Editor's quarter. "She looks kind of heated already."

**OoO**

"Hot flash should be included! Especially in Mode's hottest issue of the year!" Claire bellowed, smacking the notice on Wilhelmina's desk, fuming from ear to ear with steam came out of both ends.

"Claire, I told you that there is no room! Hottest issue of the year also means, most content of the year...There is no room for any inserts at this point...You're not the only one getting cut."

"There's no room?"

"Are finally going deaf?" Willie sneered sarcastically before restating her previous sentence, enunciating each syllable. "I said that there is no room!"

"Make room!"

"What, so your 4 subscribers can find out how menopause affects their non-existent sex life?" Wilhelmina cocked a brow and towered over Claire with an irritable look on her face, not in the mood for her antics. 3 years had gone by and she still couldn't let go of the past. Wilhelmina didn't know if it was because she was just more comfortable hating her or had nothing else better do...Then she thought about it..._Yep, Nothing else better to do._

"Don't you dare insult my magazine..."

"You mean insert?" Wilhelmina asked, not caring about the woman's feelings.

"You know what, fine." She snatched up the letter and that Month's version of Hotflash, storming to the door. "Before Daniel goes on his 3 day leave to Paris, I'll ask him since you don't seem to be able to make the right decision."

"Claire save your breath and get out, you're too old to be talking when no one is listening." Wilhelmina turned her back and Claire left in a huff as Wilhelmina expected. Massaging her temples, she took a seat at her desk, now knowing why the job had become so stressful. Claire and her crazy ass ways were making things way more complicated then they needed to be and it wasn't necessary. One of them needed to sit down and shut up and it sure as hell wasn't going to be here.

"Geesh." Ariel commented, walking passed Claire as she left, a fierce wind blowing passed her. "What bit her?"

"I wish it was death." Wilhelmina looked up, a worn look in her eyes. "But it was just Stupidity."

"What happened?"

"Oh nothing...The old dust ball just doesn't know when to sit down and let other people do their job."

"Other people being you?"

"And the dust ball being that thing you walked passed when you came in."

**OoO**

Daniel glanced over at Wilhelmina as she thumbed through the Mode book meticulously, going through every detail. She caught every typo and Photoshop mistake there was but didn't even notice Daniel's eagle eyes staring at her the entire time. Despite that, he leaned over and tugged on the glasses she wore, pulling them off. "Have I ever told you that-"

"-I look like a sexy librarian...Every time I wear them...which is every day." She complied as he moved her back to lean on his chest while he sat up and she continued to look at the Mode book, his work done for the night and hers; barely beginning.

"How was your day?"

"I told you that I didn't want to talk about it."

"You also told me to wear my red tie...Did you notice that I came home in my blue tie?'

"Daniel all you need to know is that I wished your mother death so many times, you shouldn't be surprised if Beetle juice shows up at our front door."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because she is annoying as hell...She won't let me do my job because she is breathing down my neck every 2 seconds and one day I'm going to hit her and she is going to fall, break a hip, tumble down the stairs, die and my problems will be solved."

"Willie..."

Wilhelmina looked up and smiled nervously, realizing the candor in which she spoke as if it were to happen and that she was also speaking about his mother. "But of course..." She touched his cheek softly. "You should honor your mother...love your mother..." Her smile fell to that of a ticked of glare, straight lined lips defining her face. "Fire your mother."

"Wilhelmina."

"Okay, okay." She relented, throwing her hands up as she laid back against him and returned her focus to that of the coveted Mode book.

"You know what." He took the book from her and tossed it across the room, causing her to shriek under his touch, not noticing that she was being pinned down in the process. "Let's forget about work..."

"Daniel I need to finish that by...morn...ing..." Her fight slowly ceased as she was enticed by his tender touch and the soft embrace of his lips against her skin.

"Baby..." He called out, leaning over her.

"What?"

"How old are you?"

"Okay, mood over." She pushed him off and he chuckled, seeing her squirm off to the other side of, what he felt was, their ginormous bed.

"I'm your husband Willie; I should know these things..."

"No...all you need to know is my name, my gender and that I kissed a girl in college."

He gasped a wide grin on his face. "YOU kissed a GIRL in co-" his smile soon faded and she busted out laughing, watching his excitement die completely. "Wait a minute; you didn't even go to college- Willie!"

"You should have seen the smile on your face!" She laughed at him, a hearty laugh, a happy laugh...A real laugh. Before he could even get upset, just hearing the genuine heart in her laugh let him know that he had just done something for her that he would never dare ruin.

They both stared at each other as her laughter died and they were left with the blue and white of their eyes to look back at in the parallelism of each other. She looked at him, realizing the smile on her face and the small smile on his, still sad that she wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know so desperately.

"Why do you want to know?' She asked with genuine concern, body laid flat on a pillow, her head the only thing turned to him, yet his whole body turned to her.

He ran a thumb across her cheek gently and her smile faded, seeing the seriousness in his face as his skin ran against hers. "I don't know why you wear makeup." He felt a warm presence beneath his hand and smiled a bit, knowing that she had hid a tiny blush. "You don't need it..."

"That's why you wanted to know?"

"No..." He replied, still enrobed in her beauty, the raw side he saw of her and how forbidden it felt, knowing her and being one of the very few people in the world that did know her...How forbidden...How..primitive...How...sexy...Hell, everything about her to him was sexy.

"Then why did you ask?"

"Let's talk about it in the morning."

"Daniel..."

"I know you're tired...And if we do this tonight, you won't get any sleep."

"You don't know that."

"But I know you...And that's all that I need to know...Good night Willie."

"Good...night." She replied reluctantly as she let her curiosity get the best of her, slipping under the covers as his muscled arm slipped in front of her and pulled her closer to him. She smirked, liking the assertion of his manhood and hoped he would keep it that way...right where it was.

As they slept peacefully...or attempted to sleep peacefully, Wilhelmina began to twist and turn, beside him, prompting him to be wide awake as she moved in her sleep. He reached over her and turned on the light, trying to see what the problem was. When the light shone on her face, he saw that her eyes were wide open like blue beams.

"Willie..."

She moved behind her and readjusted her pillow once more, the frustration showing on her face "I can't sleep...These stupid pillows...When are my pillows going to get here?"

"The moving truck drops off the rest of the furniture tomorrow."

"Great!..." She mumbled sarcastically, rearranging her pillow once again to add comfort that didn't seem to be appearing any time soon. "Dammit!" With one last fluff of her pillow, she plopped back in defeat, not even going to try and attempt to be comfortable.

"Willie what's wrong?"

"My back is killing me and these damn pillows-" She rearranged them once again before pulling one over her face and letting out a howling scream that was thankfully muffled by the lousy pillow.

"Shhhh Willie! Do you want Izak to come in here and think that I'm hurting you?" He attempted to quiet her, not wanting to half to deal with the toddler's questions that late at night.

"Well I'm sorry that my pain is too much for you..." She sneered, turning her back to him.

"Willie.." He touched her elbow and she shrugged him off, still uncomfortable. "I'll be right back." He whispered, being the doting husband as he left the room and soon returned with a glass of water and two Advil tablets. Reopening the door, he nearly keeled over when he saw Izak sitting up next to Wilhelmina, a sleepy smile on his face.

"No." Daniel spoke as he entered and walked across the long stretch of the room before handed Wilhelmina the glass and two tablets.

"No." Izak repeated, laying his head on Wilhelmina's lap.

"No." Daniel bent down to his level and pointed to the hallway. "Go to your own room."

"No."

"No?"

"No?"

"Are you mocking me?"

"No."

"Izak!"

"No."

"Willie!" Daniel exclaimed, pointing to Izak who now standing up, his little hands on Wilhelmina's shoulders. His miniature fingers moved back and forth and Wilhelmina chuckled at his attempt to give her a massage.

"He's giving me a massage!" She replied with a laugh in her throat, barely getting out her words before busting out in laughter.

"Willie this is not funny...He can't sleep in here, he is the reason why you have back pain in the first place!"

"Daniel, why are you getting so upset?" He huffed and looked around to see that Izak was staring him at confusion after coupling his name with Daniel's tone and not being able to figure out why.

"C'mon Bud." Daniel picked up Izak by his waist as he threw a fit, throwing back his head and arching his back, whines escaping him as he worked up a cry. Kicking and screaming in Daniel's hands, he began to wail, tears quickly springing from nowhere, outstretched towards Wilhelmina.

"Daniel, just put him down before he hurts you." Daniel complied and Izak scurried back to the side of his mother, now staring at Daniel in disdain.

"Great, now I'm the bad guy."

"Daniel you are not the bad guy...If you were nicer to him-"

"I am nice to him!"

"Lately, that has not been the case...You have been short-tempered and mean."

"Wilhelmina that is not true.."

"Yes it is..."

"So what are you trying to say? I'm not a good dad?"

"No, of course not..." She leaned, over tired and irritable. "Just...If you don't want him to be a momma's boy then...go spend some time with him...take him out to a game or something...do something annoyingly manly because if you think that being a hard ass all of the time is going to build a relationship with him, then you're wrong."

Daniel sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, looking at Izak who was staring at him, tears still there. HE smiled weakly and climbed beside him. "Bud if you're going to walk somebody's back, let it be mine...Mommy's a girl...that's not nice."

Wilhelmina swatted him, laughing a bit and knowing it was a joke. "Hey! That's not manly, that's sexist."

He chuckled. "The only thing that I heard in that sentence was a three letter word that I have not gotten much of lately."

"Shut up."

"We could play dominatrix and you could make me.." He mumbled lightly.

Wilhelmina looked at Izak who was drifting off and back to Daniel's smirking mug. "Daniel."

Daniel shook his head, kissing her briefly. "Thought so."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina came downstairs the next morning to find her two guys sitting on the only piece of furniture of their living-room-in-progress. They both jumped up excitedly and she heard whistle blowing, fans cheering...and the sounds of chips crunching on her brand new floor.

"What is this?" Willie questioned, looking at the TV.

Daniel turned around, all around grinning with Izak besides him laughing heartily as he clutched to Daniel's side so he wouldn't fall.

"Tummy Tuck!" Izak exclaimed, jumping up momentarily.

"What?" Willie asked walking up to him, eyebrows scrunched at the scene before her. She restrained her OCD temporarily, attempting to ignore the mess she saw and the state of slop they both looked like to see beyond their messiness and to the actual purpose.

"He means touchdown." Daniel replied, kissing her shortly before retuning their attention to Izak.

"You're watching football? On a Thursday morning?"

"I pay-per-viewed it...The game is over now though..."

"Tuck down!"

"Touch down..." Daniel corrected. Picking Izak up off of the couch and putting him on his shoulder before placing him on solid ground. "Go take off your jersey and put on the shirt I laid out for you."

Izak stood there, confused by the surplus of words used. Wilhelmina turned around and touched his cheek, smiling at the innocent look on his face. "Go get dressed sweetie."

Izak nodded, understanding before scurrying up the stairs, one by one. Willie watched him closely, making sure that he didn't fall going up the extreme staircase. "He's still getting used to the-" Before she could even finish her observation, he had grabbed her and crashed his lips atop of hers. He held her forearms closely, limiting her hands to only that of his face in which she delighted in, strumming the base of his cheeks. He pulled away slowly, leaving her a caught off guard, sporadically breathing mess that could only coherently form two words. "Good morning."

"Good morning." He smirked, replying before returning to their common ground, being the meeting of their lips. His hands came around her waist and the aggression in which he included pushed her back until she had flipped over the couch and had landed on her back, his face the thing she saw when she opened her eyes.

"There's a tortilla chip in my hair." He chuckled and pulled it out for her, tossing it into the empty bowl besides them.

"I love you."

"I...love you too." She responded, not knowing where this new spur of excitement was coming from but couldn't help but like it.

"I don't know if I'm going to go to Paris this weekend...And if anything...I want you to come with me."

"What?...I thought you said that you wanted to keep our relationship and Mode France separate..."

"I did but right now...I don't think that I could take 3 days of being away from you." He smiled and kissed her once again. She pushed on his chest and he retracted, looking at her inquisitively.

"Are we poor? Is Mode shutting down? Did you kill somebody? Do you need help with the body?'

"Willie..." He stopped her abruptly. "I just love you...Every single part of you..." He kissed her again...Your eyes...Those damn blue ice chips..." He laughed and she chuckled lightly. "Your lips..." He kissed her again and she blushed back into the couch. "My best friends..." HE advanced down her body and she shrieked, pulling him back up by the lobe of his ear..."Not this morning Mr. Man...In Paris."

He smiled broadly. "So you'll go?"

"I'll leave Izak with Claire...let him terrorize her for the weekend."

He kissed her for the umpteenth time that morning and pulled back. "I love you Wilhelmina Meade."

"Daniel..."

"Just the way you are..."

**OoO**

After a long day of editing, screaming, firing and temper tantrums Wilhelmina retired to Daniel's office, laying out on his couch, her legs laid across his lap as the time drowned on and on and her yawns spun around more and more. Her eyes drooped heavily and Daniel's did the same, glad that Izak was with the nanny that night anyhow. But it was getting too late...practically pushing 12am.

"Willie..."

"10 more minutes." She replied sleepily in anticipation of his statement. He remained silent and continued to run a hand up her legs before moving down to the water towers on her feet. Slowly he unbuckled the fastening and she squirmed, feeling distracted by his touch. "Daniel..."

"Hush." He ordered, also tired as his hands moved to massage the now barren spot. "Wills, you need a vacation."

"Why?"

"Your feet are swollen as hell." He commented, became careful around the areas that were larger than normal."

"Thanks for the observation Dr. Oz."

"I'm serious Wilhelmina."

His sudden changes in tone made her look up immediately, not knowing how to respond. His assertiveness stemmed from that of worry and concern...fear and denial. Every time her feet were swollen, she ended up in the hospital...her heart being the culprit and stress being the factor.

"Okay." She nodded softly and he continued working on her toes, freshly painted black.

"I don't want anything to happen to you..." He whispered, not looking her in the eye to avoid the inevitable vulnerability in his stare.

"Daniel...I'm fine..."

"Last time you said that, you had open heart surgery."

"Daniel..."

"Daniel, I need to speak with you." Daniel and Wilhelmina turned around immediately, their attention diverted by Claire who had come barreling into his office, ablaze. Seeing Wilhelmina, she recoiled, sucking her teeth. "I suppose, Wilhelmina has already spoken to you about it."

"Actually I have not." Wilhelmina replied smarmily, not wanting to hear Claire's mouth at that point.

"Well then...Daniel...This year's July issue is our hottest selling issue as always and I think that Hotflash should be included so that it could gain publicity and garner larger revenue."

"That seems plausible."

"Well then explain that to Lucifer."

Wilhelmina growled and Daniel threw his hand over her, making sure he didn't lose his mother that night to a vicious Slater attack. "Wilhelmina...why didn't you include Hotflash?"

"Because there is no room." She stated simply, eyes locked on Claire's satisfied glare.

"Then why don't you take something out?"

"Because as the highest selling issue of the year, we cannot afford to lose any content...Daniel I know what I'm doing."

"Well Willie, sales have been down lately..."

Wilhelmina narrowed her eyes and shut the Mode book angrily before swinging her feet from his lap. "That is because YOU rejected my issue topic for April and Vogue ended up doing the exact same thing in May and got triple our sales...That is not my fault."

"Well it was my final decision, and while they're not always good ones...I had to make a choice."

"Well what is your _final decision _now?"

"Include Hotflash."

"Do you know how much money we are going to lose?"

"We'll just have to take that risk."

Wilhelmina stood up, looking at the two Meades staring back at her. "You know what..." She grabbed her things, being her bag and the Mode book. "You two don't appreciate a goddamn thing that I do for this magazine..."

"Willie, that's not true..."

"No Daniel, let her go...In fact...I own Mode...I could fire you in a heartbeat if I wanted to."

"Mom, you will not fire Wilhelmina and Wilhelmina, including Hotflash is my final decision!"

"If you cut content..." She slipped into her shoes. "It will destroy our July sales..."

"Willie..." He chuckled a bit, not believing her." No it won't."

She immediately took offense to his laughter, taking it as a sign of him not respecting her...Not taking her seriously. In all of her 20 odd years of working, she had never been laughed at for her ideas...Even Fey hadn't laughed at her...yelled at her...ridiculed her...but never laughed at her like she was being silly. Suddenly she got angry and something inside her snapped, a combination of everything that had happened lately...Her pulling late nights, going to meetings across town...dealing with an incompetent staff...And not being appreciated for any of it...She was done.

"You know what..." Wilhelmina opened up her arms and released all of the Mode paperwork in her hands, as well as the Mode book which snapped open as soon as it hit the floor, releasing all of its contents. "I quit."

"Wil-" Before he could even finish her name, she had stormed out and Daniel ran after her, only left to follow the trail of anger she planted behind her.

Claire chuckled, bending down to arrange the photos. "Ha! The devil forfeits...Now that's a missing page of the bible."

**OoO**

_I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter and I encourage you to review even if it just your favorite line becasue it lets me know that someone is reading =D_

_**-NWJ**_


	2. The One

_Just when I was about to updae at 12 my sister comes over and scoops me up and I am just gettign home. I apologize for the delay and hope that you enjoy. Author's note at the end. Enjoy! =D_

_**-NWJ**_

Pulling up to their circular driveway, he allowed himself to drink in the massive, stony presence that they now referred to as their not-so humble abode. 3 stories high and a million men wide. A tan horizon, shone upon by the moonlight of the sky, adding a presence to the massive edifice. He took his hands from the steering wheel and put it in park, looking back at the home once more before moving his attention to see a shiny pair of red pumps sticking out of the back of, what he recognized as, her Hummer. Taking a short look at his watch, he sighed as realized that it was nearly 2 in the morning and she was still up and even in the backseat of her own car. Exiting his, he ran up behind her and touched her leg, feeling her jump in front of him. Seeing the stack in her hand, he held her waist as she stepped down from the large truck so that she wouldn't lose her balance. She spun around upon landing on her feet and plopped the stack in his hands. She looked at him with a numbed expression, lips pouted. "Here is all of Mode's paperwork for this issue...Tell that gray rock that gave birth to you that she can take care of it since she owns Mode."

He let a small breath release from his chest after hoping that she would have gotten over it by the time he got home. She pulled a key out of her dress pocket and locked the car, advancing towards the house.

"Willie." He called out, following her with the sad stack of papers in his hands, hoping that she was not serious but telling by the fierce way she was walking, hips swinging and her face, minus emotion….She was dead serious.

She ignored him, holding the door as he came in the house and set the papers down on the glass end table in the foyer. She looked around briefly, grimacing at the boxes that clogged her living space and blocked her way to the other side of her destination. Climbing over the boxes, she trudged through them angrily, nearly tripping over some of them in her heels.

"Wilhelmina."

"You're not going to talk me out of it, Daniel." She declared from her own emotions, still stepping over the boxes.

"You're just angry...You love Mode." He pleaded with her desperately. If he lost her…He didn't know what would happen to Mode. And on top of that…It was kind of nice to have her working just a few floors down, where he could come and talk…cancel her meetings and take her to lunch or just look at her….Bask in who she was….who she really was... In his mind…he could do that if she just left Mode.

"I know that I-" She lifted her foot from a crevice between two boxes. "-love Mode...That is not the issue here...The issue is that you and Claire no longer respect me."

"Wilhelmina that's not true."

Her head became a gaff as she twisted it around to face him, getting agitated by his constant persisting. Persisting that she was wrong. Persisting that it was not true. His persistence made her neck snap around in his direction, not paying attention to the steps that he tried to carefully take... "Yes it-"

Her words fell back down her throat as she braced herself for a fall, her heel caught between two boxes but his arm soon shot around her waist, pulling her close to him. He held her back against his chest and felt the breath enter and escape her body in a dramatic fashion. She let a few second go by, yet still tugged at his arm and loosened his grip, not letting go of her anger that quick.

"Wilhelmina you need to calm down before you hurt yourself." He warned as she got to the other end of the boxes, rolling her eyes subconsciously.

"I am very calm Daniel...As calm as a pothead in the 70's!"

"Wilhelmina don't get upset just because you didn't get your way..."

She stopped, ceasing her trail to her home office. "Do you _really _think that I would quit just because...just because you didn't agree with me?" He had crossed the boxes as well and now stood before her, hands in his pockets. "Do you not remember what I did to get my position...What I went through...What I put you through- How dare you...Even assume that my anger stems from such a childish place?"

"Well if it's not that then what is it?" He lifted his hands from his pockets, allowing them to lift momentarily with expression of his words.

"I told you! You don't respect me...You think that just because I'm your wife...I'm soft now...like when I got married I no longer knew what I was doing when it came to business...As if you running Meade means that you know more than me!"

"Wilhelmina, you ALWAYS act like you know more than me...You upstaged me at meetings...Made fun of me in the press-"

She turned around shortly, incredulously seeing him as a giant ego. "Oh MY GOD Daniel, what the hell? How many fucking years has it been? How many? Tell me, please so I know that I'm not the crazy one here!" She yelled at him, irate that he would bring up their past that had been sworn to a dark place that they agreed would never be revisited.

He looked to the staircase, hoping that Izak was not waking up over the commotion. "Lower your voice, will you?"

"Lower your ego, jackass."

"Oh so now I'm a jackass?"

"You just brought up something that I have not done in 4 years' time...I let you be a man...I let you grow up...You try to make it seem like I'm jealous of you because you're successful..."

"Well?" His eye brow raised and she stepped back, laughing lightly, not out of humor or happiness but….surprise.

"Can you be any more full of yourself? How dumb would I be to convince you to take a job and then get upset because you excel at it?"

"I don't know, you tell me?"

"You know what, fuck you." Daniel touched her arm and she pushed him forcibly back. "No Daniel! Don't fucking touch me!"

"Willie."

"You don't respect me and it pisses me off—"

"Whoa-okay wait a minute..." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, much to her fight. "This began with Mode...We shouldn't be here right now...you haven't said _fuck you _to me in 2 years Willie...This doesn't need to go any farther."

She didn't want him to be right and she didn't want to admit that she had gotten overly worked up but he knew that she knew that he was right...They shouldn't be there in that place...They had done too much and come too far to go back to square one.

"You're tired...I'm tired...You're upset and if you keep screaming, you're going to wake Izak...So let's go to bed...And we'll talk about this in the morning." She looked at him sternly, not wanting to submit and only wanting to be a hardass, storming away to her own recluse. "Baby, don't be like this..." He tugged at her hand, walking towards the staircase. "Come on..." She complied slowly, walking back over the boxes, his eyes watching her steps to ensure that she didn't fall. Because after all...no matter how angry they got...They were still married.

**OoO**

Awoken by the piercing light through their window that seemed like a magnet, attracted to his face. Feeling tiny feet press into the small of his back, Daniel turned around sleepily to see Izak, his head on Willie's stomach as his legs stretched out to Daniel's back, kicking him unintentionally. "How did you get in here?" Daniel mumbled incoherently, peaking at the clock before shooting forward in bed, waking Wilhelmina by shaking her shoulder.

"What?" She asked in annoyance, turning over to face him, Izak adjusting by snuggling close to her in his sleep. His little arm rested on her waist as she turned on her side, looking to Daniel with her eyes barely open.

"Willie, wake up we're late." He shook her shoulder lightly, getting up from the bed and adjusting the covers .

"No you're late." She corrected, closing her eyes back to a place of comfort.

"Wilhelmina, we said we'd talk about this..."

"We never talked and I'm not going."

"What do you expect me to tell the staff?"

"The truth...I quit...I already told Ariel and she is not coming in either..."

"What about Marc?"

"He knows too."

"Willie..."

"Your mother thinks that she can run Mode by herself...Let her." Her whispers were sharp, intentional. They spoke her residual anger that she attempted to subside but found it difficult and the only thing keeping her from going to round two was Izak's untamed curls brushing passed her chin as he shifted in his sleep.

"Willie what about Mode?"

"What about it?" She snapped, getting irritated by his probing to get her to cave...Something that she just was not willing to do.

"Willie, who is going to run Mode?"

"YOUR. MOTHeR."

"My mother can't run Mode."

"Obviously you think she can since you consider her opinion over mine."

"Don't be like that..." She turned her back to him, closing her eyes to feign sleep. "...You know what...Just think about it when we go to France."

She lifted a brow, face pressed against her pillow. "You still want me to go with you?" She questioned with a smirk, surprised that he wanted to travel together at this point. Her back was still to him; her face hid from him and his eyes unable to tell that the little bit of news surprised her…and delighted her.

"Of course..." He let his knee rest into the crevice of the bed before crawling over to her side, over Izak and kissing her briefly "Besides it will give you a chance to reconsider your decision."

"I'll think about it but that doesn't mean that I'll change my mind."

"Just be ready when I get back."

She rolled her eyes and turned around as he got out of bed and drug towards the closet, moving slower than usual. She huffed, loud enough for him to here as she lay on her back, looking at him with the small impression of a smile on her face.

"What?" He questioned, bringing out a blue shirt from his side of the closet and laying it on the bed for him to wear.

She shook her head, turning back over to sleep, Izak clinging to her side. "You are such a baby…."

**OoO**

Walking into the company that he owned, that he had rightfully inherited, a path was paved through the tons of people that poured in to work and to get the job done for the day. Waiting for the elevator, he got on immediately as t was empty, not noticing the old friend that was headed in his direction "Hey Daniel!" Betty exclaimed, meeting up with him in the elevator after slipping in by the skin of her teeth.

He looked up shortly and smiled broadly. "Hey Betty!" He hugged her, seeing how it had been a while and she was just returned from her trip. "How was Africa?"

She smiled brightly, seeming to be relishing in her twenties while she still had them to be enjoyed. "It was amazing...I just felt bad that I came back to this …" She gestured at the luxury that was taken for granted in her clothing and surroundings. "…And those people...They just...They had so little…."

"If you'd like, I can donate to Matt's organization, if that helps any...I know he doesn't talk to his father as much as he used to so his funds are not as...you know..."

She nodded, touching his shoulder briefly as her smile widened. "Thanks Daniel, I...I appreciate that." She smiled, still relishing in his maturity. "So, where is Wilhelmina?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I know you usually walk her to her office in the morning...But she isn't here...with us...right now...So where is she?"

"Oh, she uh..." He fumbled with his watch nervously, being his tell-tale. "She is busy with the move..."

"Wilhelmina Slater worked on moving couches and pointing men in the direction they were supposed to go...while you went to work?" He nodded unconvincingly and Betty lifted a brow, folding her arms over her chest before he caved completely.

"Okay, okay...She quit." Betty chuckled heartily, clutching at her ribs. He sighed, looking at her seriously. "Betty..."

Her laughter ceased and she took his pensive look as a time to recoil. "Oh you're serious...Why would she do that? Did you two have a fight or something?"

"No...Well not us exactly...She and my mom got into it and she claims that we don't respect her opinion and she's just so pissed..."

"Do you think she will get over it?"

"Honestly, Betty I don't know..." He shrugged, meaning exactly what he said. They hadn't fought that bad in a while and he wasn't willing to take that turn in that relationship...He wasn't willing to go back to that dark place...Even if it meant that Mode was at stake. _His marriage meant more._

**OoO**

Daniel entered the house that night hurriedly, fearing that they would miss their plane if they didn't leave soon. Though his steps slowed upon seeing the fullness of the home…the fact that the boxes were obsolete and the decoration was complete. He speculated that it was out of boredom but it still got done. "Willie are you ready?" He bellowed, leaning on the staircase railing that wound at a curve in a deep mahogany. She came down the stairs slowly and a smile graced his face slowly upon seeing her dissention. She wore a chic stretch cotton dress with cap sleeves and hidden front zip that included a jewel neckline and slightly pleated skirt. Her waist was drawn to by a black leather obl belt that began where the plunge of her neckline ended...The very plunge that he couldn't seem to get his eyes off, highlighting her amply, exaggerated cleavage. Spotting her suitcase in her hands, he rushed up and took it from her gracefully, his other hand leading her down the steps. Taking the last step, her lips were met by his and the palm of her hands found his hair, leaving the job to the tantalizing touch of her fingers. He pulled away, his arms holding her close to him. "I missed you today."

"I missed you too."

"It was weird, not getting any termination slips on my desk..." He smiled and she smiled as well, holding onto his biceps as he shrugged off his feelings and urge to talk to her about her decision and decided to just kiss her cheek tenderly. "Did my mom come by?"

"No, I sent Ariel to take Izak to her house..."

"How was your day?"

"It was quiet...I got the house done..."

"I see..." He took a final look around the house in astonishment. "How?"

She chuckled. "I'm a fast worker...And having 30 horny guys at my disposal was also a great tool." Her hands found her hips and he looked at her skeptically

"Wilhelmina?"

She kissed him and pinched his chin, shaking her head. "Don't worry...I'm a tease not a tart."

He grinned and led her to the door. "My luggage is already in the car...Our flight is in 3 hours..."

"Then let's get a move on..."

**OoO**

After hours of sleeping, reading and holding each other's hands in silence, ignoring the elephant in the room, they had finally made it to Paris at 2am. Slightly jet-lagged, they drudged on the elevator and to the Penthouse apartment that Daniel had leased for his monthly trips. Leaving their luggage at the door, he bent down on a knee and spoke. "Put your hands on my back."

She did so with a smile. "And I thought you were going to propose...again..."

"I knew you loved me enough to marry me twice..." He joked, working on the straps of her shoes.

"What are you doing?"

"I want you to be comfortable and that is not going to happen wearing phone poles." She lifted her foot and she stepped out of one, repeating the process with the other. He pushed her shoes to the side and rejoined her in the large foyer, chuckling at her height. "You're so short..."

"Shut up!" She blushed, swatting his chest.

"I am Jack and you are my beanstalk..."

"Doesn't that ever get old? And wouldn't it be the other way around?

"Nope...Because that means that I-" He swept her off of her feet quickly, earning a yelp from her side. "-Get to climb you."

Taking her into the bedroom, he set her down on the bed and she lifted a brow, seeing him move towards his tie and immediately remove it.

"Oh really now?"

"You said in Paris..." His hands advanced towards the front of her dress that held the zipper. "We're in Paris..." He slid the zipper down slowly, his mouth tracing over every spot of skin that he revealed. Getting to the end, he looked at her as she lay there, staring back at him. He relished in the sight of her body, the direct V down to the center of her stomach being an enticing visual of what was to come, highlighting the valley of her chest and the plateau of her temple. Toppling before her, their noses nearly touched, their breath mixing an intoxicating aroma of the other person for that opposite person. Slowly but surely, his lips moved to the side of her face, the sound waves that hit her eardrum, rumbling something inside of her. "I'm about to remind you...Just how much I love you."

_And remind her, he did._

**OoO**

The next day, they walked the French Mode offices, stepping off of the elevator hand in hand. Daniel grinned happily, loving the stares they got when they walked by. But Willie wasn't paying attention, her focus being mainly on the decor and similarity the offices bared to the ones at home.

"Wilhelmina this is Brien Levesque….The Creative Director…." He showed her to the employee and she smiled, snapping out of her trance to greet he grinning director. He took her hand in his, kissing the back as he bent before her. . "_Belle femme ... tout simplement superbe"_

Daniel rolled his eyes and pulled her away, growing jealous. "Yeah, yeah she's gorgeous…Let's go Willie!" He tugged at her arm softly, pulling her in the direction of his office. She laughed at his minute immaturity when it came to her and other men as he pushed a key into a lonely silver door. "This is my office." Daniel opened the door to a near replica of his old Mode office only instead of orange, there was red.

Wilhelmina shook her head, turning back around. "Remind me to decorate your next office."

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

She raised a brow, taking another look around. -*"It looks like the devil's corporate building."

"Aren't you observant today?" He neared her, pulling at a pinch in her jacket, spinning her into his arms, pecking her lips shortly, holding her tight.

She giggled girlishly batting her eyes as her fists rested on his chest and she neared his slips, speaking near millimeters from his mouth. Well-"

"Mr. Meade..." A young voice spoke up from behind them, making Daniel step back, Wilhelmina as well.

"Yes, Francesca?"

"Francesca?" Wilhelmina's head snapped around, looking for this woman.

"Mr. Meade..." She whined, twirling a pencil between her fingers, letting her accent come out with a thick presence. "I need to speak with you about some..." Her voice trailed off when she spotted Wilhelmina, eyes hard and lips pursed, one single brow lifted in an intimidating stare. "B-But it can wait."

"Francesca wait, this is my wife..." Wilhelmina stood about 2 yards away from the woman who had now extended her hand. Daniel pushed her back lightly, encouraging her towards the young girl. "...WILHeL.." He pushed her one last time, making her step forward. "-mina."

"I'm Francesca..." The woman kept her hand out and Wilhelmina looked at it, noting the pink nail polish.

"I believe we've established that already." She retracted her hand and Daniel stifled his chuckle, feeling bad for the editor and yet tickled from head to toe. "Have you ever worked at a Fashion Magazine before?"

"No...This is my 3rd year though."

"It's obvious...Your nails are pink...It makes your hand look like 5 bottles of pesto bismol bonded together by a blotchy patch of pale...You're not a vampire you know?" WIlhelmina looked up, staring into the girl's eyes. "That's not normal..."

"Ummmm Francesca..." Daniel quickly intervened, suppressing his laughs. "My...My wife and I were just headed out for dinner...Whatever you need, can it wait?"

The insulted Editor spun around and stormed off angrily, shouting in dignitaries in French. Daniel spun around to Wilhelmina who was wearing her old Mode mug. "Babe, I know you miss crushing people's self-esteem but if you do that here, they will hate me...They'll have me deported."

"They should deport that bottle blonde no-bra wearing, walking STD..."

"She wasn't wearing a bra?" Daniel feigned innocence, questioning her wardrobe.

She pushed at his chest, exiting the devilish office. "Like you didn't notice!"

**OoO**

Willie and Daniel sat at a table near the window, Wilhelmina picking at her salad and Daniel devouring a hearty steak. Noticing her preoccupancy, he stabbed a fork to her plate and she looked up, eyes big. "What's up, why aren't you eating?"

"I can't...not with Bigfoot's father staring at me the whole time." She looked to the window where paparazzi was gathered, snapping photos endlessly.

Daniel motioned over to their waiter, waving him over. The young man hurried to their table, standing a firm and at their service. _"Comment puis-je vous aider Monsieur?"_

Daniel pointed to the window, hoping to be an aide if his French was off. "_Ma femme et moi essayons de profiter de notre repas, mais il semble presque impossible avec l'imposition de la presse et leurs caméras. Pouvez-vous faire quelque chose?_"

The waiter reached over and knocked on the window before drawing a blind over their window. Daniel smiled, nodding curtly. _"Merci."_

_"Vous êtes les bienvenus monsieur."_

"He's polite." Wilhelmina complimented as he walked off.

"Are you good now?" Daniel asked, realizing that she still wasn't eating.

"I-" Before she could even finish her phone was ringing and she looked at the caller I.D. "Answer it."

Daniel took the phone and looked to see that it was his mother. "She called you."

"It's probably about Izak...answer it."

"But Willie-"

"I don't want to talk to her."

Daniel huffed and answered quickly. "Hello? Hey mom...Really? No one did any work...Did you get the book turned in? You put Hot flash in?" He looked to Wilhelmina and she rolled her eyes. "What is Izak doing? Well why is he crying?"

"What did she do?"

"O-Okay mom..." He extended the phone in her direction and she shook her head. He held the bottom. "Wilhelmina, its Izak..."

She took the phone immediately, listening intently. "Wait-sw-sweetie...Mommy's right here...No mommy didn't leave you...I'll be back soon...No not tomorrow...Well you're with Grandma...Grandma does not have monsters at her house...No not under the bed...not in the closet either...She isn't one either...Sweetie stop crying...I love you...Yes I do...I'll be back in a couple of days...It's forever not fever and It won't be forever...alright...talk to Daddy."

She handed him the phone and Daniel took it quickly to see what the problem was. "What's wrong Bud? Nu-uh I'm not going to talk to you if you're crying or you'll have to go talk to the monsters in grandma's closet."

"Daniel!" Wilhelmina scorned.

"Well he stopped!" Daniel whispered before returning to the phone. "No I have not hurt mommy...She is fine...I did not take her from you...I love mommy...Was I satisfying myself with her again? Well-"

"Daniel!"

"Okay...Bud you got to go to bed...We'll be back soon...Alright...No I didn't hurt mommy...Yes, I promise...Okay...Izak...Okay."

He hung up and Wilhelmina chuckled. "What did he say?"

"He asked if I had hurt you or satisfied myself lately...Well he said saltied but I understood what he meant.."

"Did he stop crying?"

"Right up until I was about to hang up...Then he started crying for you again..."

"Why didn't you give me the phone?"

"Because he needs to learn how to be away from you."

"Daniel..."

"Willie are we really going to be having this conversation?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

"Willie, you know that Izak is attached to you...You know this as a fact and while it's great for him to love his mommy...What is going to happen on his first day of kindergarten? Is he going to cry and hold onto your leg and then you'll have to sit in his class for the whole day? Is that what you want? What if we have more kids, what then? He can't hog you."

Wilhelmina chuckled, shaking her head. "We're not having any more children Daniel."

"What do you mean? We never even discussed it..."

"Well we can do that right now..." She set her fork down, elbows setting on the tables as her fingers link with one another. "We're not having any more kids."

"Wilhelmina."

"Can we change the subject please?"

Daniel looked at her, taken by her snappy tone before complying and cutting his steak. "Fine...Mode."

Wilhelmina motioned to their waiter in a hurry. "Check please!"

"You can't keep avoiding this...You heard my mother...Nobody is listening to her...Everybody is wondering where you are...Did you see Fashion Buzz this morning? It was speculating as to why you haven't been at Mode and why my mother's name is on the masthead."

"What? I did EVERYTHING for that issue and she put HeR name on the masthead?"

Daniel spoke again, making her stare at him with an even fiercer fervor. "I knew you still cared."

"I told you that it is not a matter of caring it is a matter of respect."

"Wilhelmina since when have you ever cared about someone's respect for you?"

"Since I married the one person that I need it from..." She looked down, picking at her plate with her fork. "And I stopped getting it." She lifted her head back up, wanting to see his response

He looked up from his plate and met her eyes in an equal match, challenging her challenge. "Wilhelmina that is not true."

"Don't insult me by trying to make me feel crazy...I'm not stupid...As soon as you took the job as head of Meade, your ego got bigger and bigger and no one could tell you anything...Even me..."

"You never said anything!"

"How was I supposed to! You had finally became a man? How big of a bitch would I be if I, after pushing you there to be someone, ridiculed and criticized you when you do it?"

"So you just resented me and let me be a jerk?"

"I don't resent you...At times I didn't like you because you let the job go to your head but I always loved you."

"You're my wife...You're supposed to tell me when I'm being an ass!"

"You're a man, you're supposed to know." She retorted back with equal emotion, their voice low in an attempt to keep their business to themselves.

"So you quitting Mode is my fault?"

"Partly...But it was mostly your mother."

"And how can I get you back?"

"I don't think you can..." She shook her head, fiddling with her fork. "I fought so long for it and when I finally got it...to be disrespected like that...I'm not willing to do it again."

"Willie." He pushed their plates out of the way and touched her hand, squeezing softly. "I never meant to disrespect you and most of all, hurt you."

"I know...But you did...And the fact that you didn't notice is what tells me that if I come back it will happen again.

"Willie that's not fair."

"Daniel I'm protecting myself...I'm protecting our marriage...I'm protecting us...This might be for the best..."

"I'll step down..."

"No..." She covered his hand that sat on the table, flat in exhaustion. "You...you need Meade...It makes you happy, I know it...Besides...You don't speak for your mother and she is the main part of the problem."

"I'll talk to her."

"Daniel...For right now...Let me just take a break from Mode...See how it goes."

"Permanently?"

"I don't know..."Her protecting hand squeezed his beneath hers lightly; trying to offer some hope…Hope that she was even questioning in existence.

**OoO**

They finished their dinner silently, an awkward tension between them. Their ride to the apartment was awkward and their elevator life was awkward. For whatever reason, that dinner had suddenly put an _awkward _wrench in their French getaway. Standing at the door, her hands on his back as he unbuckled her shoes, Wilhelmina realized this and waited for him to finish. She stepped out of her shoes and he immediately pushed her shoes away, but instead of making his little snide Disney comment, he kissed her cheek and walked to the bedroom quietly, not saying a word. Worried, she trailed behind him and watched as he sat on the edge of the bed, working on his own socks.

"Is there something else that we need to talk about?"

He looked up and shook his head. "Nope."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you're sleepy and your lie-dar is off." He retorted, working on the buttons of his shirt.

"Do you want me to go?"

"Go where?"

"Home."

He looked over to her as she leaned against the doorway. "Why would you say that?"

"Because after dinner your attitude changed...You acted like you didn't want me here...Like I'm intruding on your 3 days of recluse."

"Willie, I invited you here...I want you here." He stated flatly, switching out his slacks for pajama bottoms.

"You sound so convincing..." She spat sarcastically, still in the doorway.

"Well what the hell do you want me to do, sing a song and dance around. If you don't believe me then that's on you." His reply was angry, bitter and spiteful, sounding like an old man as he reached for the remote and turned on the T.V.

Wilhelmina scoffed and walked over to the closet, pulling out her suitcase. She slapped it on the bed angrily and began to pull her things from his drawers, drawing his attention.

"Wilhelmina what are you doing?"

"I'm leaving."

He sighed and got up from the bed, muting the T.V. so that the only thing heard was the ruffling of her clothes and mumblings under her breath. "Wilhelmina..." He reached in her suitcase and began to put things back. She reached in and put it back in the suitcase. They repeated the cycle for about 4 times until Daniel slammed the suitcase shut, calling her attention.

"I don't want you to leave...I came with my wife and I am leaving with my wife."

"Now I'm your wife?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know Daniel...I don't know if this is about Mode...but I thought we resolved that."

"We did!"

"Then why are you acting like you are?"

He huffed, running a hand through his hair before moving her suitcase from the bed. He then took her by the forearms sat her in the same spot. He didn't want to explode on her. He did not want to yell at her. He paced, trying to figure out a way to get it off his chest without blowing it out of proportion. Suddenly he stopped in front of her, looking dead in her eyes. "Willie...Marriage is a partnership right?"

"Right."

"I don't make major decisions without considering you and you don't make major decisions without considering me?"

"Right..."

"And if you have something to say...I can't shut you down and vice-versa."

"Right. Daniel, where is this coming from?"

"Willie, at dinner I brought up having my kids...You completely shut me down and said that it wasn't an option."

She shrugged, not seeing the problem. "It's not."

"See? That's why I'm acting the way I am...I have a say in that...I should!"

"You want a say?"

"Yes?"

"Where's your say in morning sickness? Varicose Veins? High Blood Pressure? Fainting? Oh swollen feet? Migraines? Labor?" She chuckled, reminiscing on Izak's unexpected appearance. "….Please tell me your say in Labor."

"So you were willing to go through all of that just to take over Mode but not for me?" He asked with a blunt accent, awaiting a truthful answer.

Wilhelmina stood to her feet immediately, a fire burning behind her stare. "Daniel don't go back there..."

"It's true! You had Izak to take the company away from me but you won't have a baby just for me..." He pointed in his direction, not understanding her detachment...resisting…"With me!...for our family?"

"I didn't have Izak just to take the company away from you...I had Izak because I had no one else!" She yelled angrily, a cracking heard in her voice in her last sentence. "I didn't have a legacy...My family had bailed on me and at the time Nico barely called...I didn't want to be forgotten...I felt like...If I were to die...I would not be remembered...I had Izak so that I would have a legacy...And I thought you knew me well enough to know that in everything I do...there is always a reason beyond what it looks like..." She turned away, biting her lip to hold back anger that threatened to reveal itself... "I thought you knew me better than that Daniel...Obviously you don't

"Dammit...C'mere..." She reluctantly fell into his arms that he wrapped around her securely, kissing the top of her head. "Baby, I'm sorry."

"I don't know why we're fighting so much lately..." She shook her head against his chest, finding solace in the heartbeat that matched hers."

"I'm an ass...

"And I'm a bitch..."

"You're not a bitch."

"You're not an ass."

"We agreed to leave the past in the past and when I got mad the first thing I did was go in the past...I'm an ass."

"You know what...I was being selfish..." He looked down at her and she shrugged, pulling away. "If I can sacrifice that for Mode...then I can do it for you."

"Willie I said that out-"

"You were right...I mean...maybe me being away from Mode right now is the perfect time..."

"Are you sure?" He questioned, not being able to suppress the large grin on his face.

"No...But I'm sure that whatever makes you happy...Will do the same for me..."

"Are we good?" He faced her, shirtless, they're hands the only thing touching before she stood on her tippy toes, kissing him.

"We're good..." He chuckled, tenderly pressing his lips against once more. "What?"

He shook his head, gripping her forearms. "You have gone soft woman..."

She slapped his chest, pushing him back on the bed, laying poignant kisses on his lips in intervals unto he fell back and bounced on the matress. "But not in the bedroom..."

**OoO**

On his last night in Paris he laid in bed, holding close to his other half as she breathed evenly, chest heaving up and down in a steady rhythm. His eyes wandered against the back of his eye lids, trying to find sleep yet it never came. Growing irritated, he turned his attention to Willie, thinking that if he watched her sleep then he would fall asleep yet all that did was distract him. He was just staring at her and had she woken up at that instant, he probably would have had some explaining to do.

Seeing a light shine on the ceiling, he turned over and saw it vibrating against the end table, begging for attention. "Hello….do you have any idea what time it is…..An emergency meeting?...What designer would want to meet at 12am?"

**OoO**

Daniel walked sleepily through Mode France, hoping that Wilhelmina would negate his absence as he made this last meeting for his last night in the Land of Romance. He turned the winding halls, on his way to the conference room when he saw a bright light, shining from a computer screen in a row of Editor's desk.

"Hello?" He called out, creeping past the archway to see who it was.

"Mr. Meade." He heard a thick French accent and he jumped back, not expecting it.

"Francesca?" His voice shook, fearing for the girl's life if she had called him out of his bed for something and Willie found out.

_"Que ferons-nous ce soir?"_

Instantly he recognized the voice behind the accent. _Hearing her speak the language, the brush of her tongue against the point of her teeth. The pout of her lips pursing to form perfect little 'o's of annunciation...It drove him mad. _"Willie?"

All he could see was the top of her head, the rest of her concealed by the desk and the computer. _"Qui pensez-vous?"_

"Wilhelmina what are you doing here?" He inched closer, trying to get a glance.

She stood up from the desk to reveal a form fitting dress that clung to her body like velvet shell. Its sweetheart neckline, strapless and sexy, made him want to jump across the table. Her hair fell in a mess of curls, messy and wild. She walked up to him, her hands running down his chest, a devious look in her eyes. Suddenly, a force came through her and she ripped open his shirt, forcing him on his back, now lying on an Editor's desk. Her hands ran in circles against his skin, teasing him when she bent down before him. "I am not always going to be here...And I know you...Francesca is your type...Is she not?"

"Willie-"

"Shhhh-" She pressed a finger to his lips and he hushed immediately. She bent down before him and played with the hair around his ear. "Rhetorical...Question." She whispered, the heat of her words sending shivers up his spine. "I am eliminating any temptation...because every time you see her...you will see me." Her hands moved to his belt and she felt a push against her elbow that was near the seat of his pants. "Calm down Mr. Meade, remember...I'm a tease...Not a tart..."She pulled his shirt out seductively, taking her sweet time. "...And every time you walk past this desk...You won't see that breast bag...You'll see me...You'll see yourself in complete submission...You'll see me..." She lowered herself to him and as her lips moved, they brushed against his and all he wanted to do was take her right then and there. "Making love to you like you're the only person...In the world."

**OoO**

_39 people can read but only 3 can review? Seriously lololol You see that pretty blue button down there? Click it and ooohhh a box pops up and then type some stuff and oohh click Submit Feedback/ Review! Help a sista out! :P_

_P.S Thank you Grace, Deslil and Addicted =D There is a special place in Fanfic Heaven for you all lol XOXO_

_**-NWJ**_


	3. Turning Tables

_Important A/N at the end. Enjoy =D_

_-__**NWJ**_

The sun began to set subtly and a shadow let a cast down on the old Meade mansion. After hours of exhaustion sweeping upon them, the voices of flight attendants calling out nonsense on the intercom and dealing with the occasional turbulence call…They were just glad do be in their state of glory. He pulled up, parking at the curve of the circular driveway that outlined the face of the house. Undoing the seat belt, he looked over to Wilhelmina, a tired look in her eyes. "Are you coming?" He questioned, opening his car door. She shook her head softly and he nodded, locking the door from the inside. Ascending the stairs, he reached the door and knocked, stuffing his hands in his suit pockets as he waited. The door was quickly answered by a maid who led him to Claire and Izak in the living room. She looked up from the couch and lifted a brow. "You didn't have to knock, you could have used the key that Bradford gave her...I never changed the locks."

"Mom, not in front of Izak." He scorned, not wanting him to grow up hearing of the rocky past of his parents. Hearing his father's voice, Izak turned around and jumped up, running to him.

"Daddy!" Izak ran towards him, Daniel catching him and bringing him to the air.

"Hey bud! Did you have fun?"

"No." He pouted.

Claire rolled her eyes, rubbing the young child's back as he sat, perched in his father's arms. "Izak, don't say that. We had lots of fun..."

"You have monsters in your room."

"I do not...Hello sweetheart." Claire leaned over and kissed his cheek, handing over Izak's overnight bag. "He is due for a nap...He hasn't had one yet today."

"Oh really?" Izak hugged his neck sleepily and let his head rest on his shoulder. "Mom, you said you that you had to speak with me about something?"

"Oh...um...I just wanted to tell you about the sale reports for Mode."

"They're back already?" He questioned as he let Izak plant his feet on the ground. "Were they good?"

"Well...Overall….34% down from last month..."

"What? How did this hap-" He stopped, remembering that Wilhelmina had told him that this would happen if they removed content and replaced it with Hotflash. "Do you want to go apologize or should I go get her-"

"I'm not apologizing..."

"But mom, you were wrong...

"I'm not apologizing."

"Damn it mom, now I have to announce tomorrow that she's stepping down."

"Wilhelmina? Why would she do something like that?"

"You!"

"I was not the only one at fault...You were wrong too."

"And I apologized, you know what mom...It's getting late, I'm gonna go..." He turned around and left for the door, not hearing a rebuttal from his mother. She probably was not in a fighting mood, and complied that for that reason...Or she knew that she was wrong and didn't want to admit it. Contemplating this, he had made it to the car and was now strapping Izak in to find that Willie was now wide awake.

"That was quick." He commented, hopping in the driver's seat.

"I have a headache." She whispered lowly, knowing that any sharp tones would have agitated her even the more.

"MOMMY!" Izak exclaimed, clapping and giggling with excitement to see her.

"And now I have a migraine."

**OoO**

Walking through the door, Daniel lugged their bags in while Izak followed closely with Wilhelmina. He tugged at her jacket, voice irate and urgent. "Mommy!...Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

Daniel looked over after locking the door to see Wilhelmina, her hand gripping at the banister, her head pounding with intensity. The echoes of Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy began to fade into a sharp dull noise that did nothing but irritate her even the more.

"Hey buddy, mommy's not feeling to good right now..."

Having his attention taken, Wilhelmina took this as an opportunity to ascend the stairs quietly. Izak looked at Daniel incredulously, a serious look bestowing his face.

"What'd you do to her?" He asked defensively, getting upset.

"Nothing Buddy..." Daniel bent down to his level and tussled his hair, letting Wilhelmina make it to the top of the stairs. "Mommy's head hurts..."

"You make her head hurt?"

"No, her head just hurts..."

"Buh why?"

"I don't know buddy...Look I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"No."

"Yes."

'No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

Daniel lifted him into the air and tickled him furiously, letting his howling laugh fill the room before putting him on his shoulder. "You're going to bed bud."

"No."

**OoO**

After putting a stubborn Izak to bed, bringing their things upstairs and taking a breath from all of the things that he had to do, he rolled up his sleeves and rushed the kitchen, brewing tea the best way he knew how...In the microwave.

Knocking on the door lightly, it opened by the contact of his fist. He saw that she was in bed, wide awake yet with sleep hanging on her every move. He set the cup down on the night stand and she smiled weakly, tracing his moves as he removed his tie and shoes, climbing next to her on top of the covers. Finding his chest, her head fell like a magnet, his arm running securely across her body, pulling her to him. She settled snug, beside him. His fingers ran through the length of her locks and she sighed in the content of their happiness, their moment...their selves.

"Daniel..." She called out softly, trying not to succumb to the sleep that threatened.

"Hmmm?"

"Don't you think I'm too old to have another baby?"

He sighed, kissing her cheek. "I would be able to answer that if I only knew how old you are..."

"No one knows my age Daniel...Not even my father..."

"But I'm your husband...I love you and I would like to be able to wish you a happy birthday..." She was silent and his fingers walked the fore of her arm. "Willie..."

"I'm 47 Daniel..." She whispered, letting out a shaky breath. She hated revealing her age, feeling like an old woman whose clock was ghastly ticking while her life went by slower each day. As soon as she said so, she regretted it, only wanting to stuff the words back to where they came from yet knowing that it was all too late to do so.

"I'm 41...We're not far apart."

"I'm old..."

"Willie stops it."

"I'm 48 Daniel; I'm nearly half of 100."

"I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that 47 isn't close to 50...I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it doesn't worry me in the aspect of having more children but I am also not going to lie to you and agree with you when you sound like you think that you're an old woman...I'm not going to pretend like your clock isn't ticking and I'm not going to pretend like we have a lot time...But I'm also not going to waste time debating your age...You look 27...You act 35...You...do _things _like you're 20...Your age doesn't matter to me and it shouldn't matter to you either because...It doesn't really matter...You shouldn't worry about it, babe it's unnecessary stress."

"So it doesn't matter if I can't...have another baby..."

"If it happens, it happens...Whatever goes on...I'm sure it's for the best."

She turned around to look at him, a small smile creeping pass the pound in her head. "When did you become the philosophical one?"

"When I realized that there are people that are depending on me..." He slid down beside her, allowing their lips to meet momentarily, the separation like tape pulling apart from another.

She smiled against his kiss, feeling his hands run lines on her back. "You know your ego can be a turn on sometimes..."

"Oh really?"

"Yup...If I didn't have a headache I might try some of those _things_ that I do."

"Well I can get you some Aspirin, that's not a problem."

She chuckled, looking up to him. "You're such a horn dog..."

He neared her once more, before embracing a tender meeting with her lips once again. "Well you brought it up."

**OoO**

The next morning Wilhelmina descended the stairs, hastily stopped by Daniel who assaulted her lips, an ulterior motive in his actions. He pulled away and blocked her movements, arms stretched to hold each banister so that she could go no farther.

"Daniel..."

"Hmm?"

"Move."

"Magic word...'

"Now." She demanded, trying to get passed.

"Uhhhh I can't do that..."

"Oh my God Daniel, there's a bug..." She squealed and he spun around, releasing his hold on the banister. Her dramatics died and she pushed passed him and into the foyer where she saw lights flashing behind the curtains. She peeked passed one and found herself blinded by the amount of cameras in her face, immediately closing the curtains.

"Wilhelmina let me explain..."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Someone leaked to the press that you were taking hiatus from Mode...I don't know who-'

"That's it?" She questioned, picking up an extended armed Izak.

"What, you don't care?"

"I mean...That saves us the trouble of holding a press conference..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm su-"

Mid-word, the door snapped open and they jumped back, relieved when they realized that it was just Marc, something that was made obvious by hearing his screeching voice.

"I DID NOT HAVE A THREESOME WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, STOP SCANDALIZING MY GOOD NAME, _UNTIL__THE__END__OF__TIME_WAS NOT ABOUT ME!" He walked through the door, holding it before whispering towards Willie. "I have always wanted to do that!"

"I KNOW I LOOK LIKE BRITNEY SPEARS!" Amanda came bustling in, all smiles as she threw kisses in the direction of the paparazzi.

"I HAVE NO RELATION TO THEM!" Ariel yelled, closing the door behind them.

"What are you all doing here?" Daniel questioned as Wilhelmina set a squirming Izak down to go run to his sister.

"PR." They reported simultaneously, looking as if it was obvious.

"Yeah, Mom we have to deny that you are stepping down before people start confirming it."

"Well it's true." Wilhelmina responded with a shrug.

"What?" They responded in unison and astonishment. Daniel looked to Wilhelmina and watched as she grew uncomfortable, having hoped to be able to skim over that portion of her decision. But it proved not to be so.

**OoO**

"But Willie, just to prove a point?" Marc asked as they all sat around the dining room table and Daniel fed Izak next to Wilhelmina, all eyes on her.

"There is more to it than that..." She looked down at her wedding ring, beginning to reminisce over her days at Mode, her memories...Her accomplishments. Her mind had left the room and her body's movement consisted of the back-and forth movement of her wedding ring on her finger. Looking up, feeling the stares on her, she smiled weakly, not going to turn a good decision into a sad fest. "Look, I'll still be working...I'm going to be running Daniel's 3 day trips to France so that he can work on Meade more and I will still be in Publishing..."

"But Willie-" Marc protested, confused. He knew how she felt about Mode, he knew that she would do anything for it and didn't understand why she would just give it up like that.

"Marc, it's my decision." She shut him down, her voice taking on a rather stern tone that required no reply.

"What about me?" Ariel asked, hurt that she was not notified of such a drastic change. "I'm supposed to be your assistant."

"And you have been my assistant...A great assistant but...It's time you took on the Editorial role...You'll be the Junior Fashion Editor under Marc as the Senior Fashion Editor..."

Ariel sat back in the chair, mimicking Marc. They're bottom lips poked out somberly and she could tell that they were upset and they wanted to know more but knew that she wouldn't cave. They knew that Mode wouldn't be the same and they didn't trust anyone to take her place.

"Oh come on, I didn't die...I just quit."

"You might as well...Wilhelmina Slater doesn't quit, she kills...Like a...a...Cockroach" Amanda chimed in surprisingly.

Wilhelmina turned around, eyeing Amanda in confusion as did everyone else. "Did you just use the word cockroach in relation to_ ME_?"

Amanda shook her head softly, scooting over her chair and causing an awkward screech in the room as she did so. Marc sighed, moving on with the topic. "Well if you're gone who is running Mode?"

"My mother." Daniel replied simply.

"My heart can't take it..." Marc exclaimed dramatically, clutching at his chest as he removed himself from the situation and left the room.

"I'm sorry Daniel, I love your mother but that yellow suit that she wore the other day made her look like a banana at a bachelor party."

"You know..." Wilhelmina turned to Amanda, a proud smirk on her face. "That was kind of funny."

"Thank you." Amanda accepted graciously.

Wilhelmina smiled weakly, letting go of a burdening breath before excusing herself from the table. "I'll be right back." She walked all the way to the other end of the house, where she knew to find him. Entering her home office, she stopped in the doorway and he spun around, feeling her presence.

"Well...Spit it out...I know you're upset."

"Why Willie?" He began a sense of hurt in his voice. "After everything I helped you do to get Mode...you're going to let it all go in vain by quitting."

"Marc it's not in vain...You're a Senior Fashion Editor, in 3 years' time you'll be Creative Director."

"I don't want to be Creative Director."

"What? You always said that you wanted-"

"To be Creative Director...under you as Editor-In-Chief...I wanted to be the Willie to your Fey...not the urn to Claire's ashes..."

"What is with everybody having good Claire quips today?" She looked to him, expecting a smile but only got a solemn grimace. "Marc, don't look at me like that." He continued to stare and she narrowed her eyes, getting angry. "I said stop it...I don't have to explain myself to you...I need to find happiness outside of Mode...I need a break...For the sake of my marriage and the mortality of my husband's mother, I needed a break...And I am taking it...Claire thinks that she can run Mode, then I'm going to let her and laugh my ass off watching her try."

"But Willie...'

"Marc-"

"Willie I'm getting married." He blurted out with a sputter.

"What?" She exclaimed, not believing his words.

"I'm getting married and my family is not attending...You're my only family."

"Marc, you know I don't like sappy shit-"

"Don't front Wilhelmina, I read Daniel's emails to you..."

"You what?"

"That's not the point!...The point is that...You're like a mother to me and you brought me to Mode...Would you leave Izak at Disneyland alone?"

"Okay one, I would never take Izak to Disneyland..."

"Willie, you're missing the point...You brought me there and now you're leaving me to survive on my own."

"Because I know you can...I don't raise punks Marc!" Her voice rose slightly and he was taken aback by her rise of emotion just for him. "You're damn right, I said raise...I practically raised you into the person you are today and in that time I didn't make you dependent on me...I made you dependent on yourself...in this world you can depend on no one but yourself...Family dies and Friends lie but you will have yourself until your last dying breath...now if you're getting married, no gay man wants a husband who is dependent on a woman...I am leaving Mode for God knows how long...And during that time, I expect you to keep things in order...I want you to give Ariel your workspace and I want you to work in my office..."

"Willi-"

"No, let me finish...I want you to help Claire...I know you don't think she deserves it but I worked my ass off at that magazine for 25 years and I'll be damned if I let a dusty Orangutan ruin everything I've done...Now you help her even if she doesn't want you there...Push yourself onto her...Force her to listen to you and if she is doesn't want to, drug her and bring the book to me."

Finally a smile. "Willie...I'm going to miss you."

"I'm not dying Marc, I'll be here...I'm not going anywhere."

He nodded softly and she spun around to leave, walking back the length of the house before stopping in the living room to see Ariel exiting out the back of the house. She caught up with her quickly, a quizzical look on her face.

"Ariel!"

Ariel turned around, mouth pouty and an attitude swelling through her buffed up chest. "What?"

"What's the problem?"

"You can give Marc a pep talk but you leave me to grab my baring's with your husband..."

"Are you seriously jealous?"

"I'm not jealous; I just think that it's weird how you treat everyone but your child, like your child."

"Ariel, Marc barely talks to his mother...You see me almost every day and you talk to me every day...I have been with that boy for 8 years and he needed some reassurance...He is not you...You don't need reassurance."

"How do you know that? How do you know that I didn't need my mom to tell me that I was going to be okay?"

"Because you should know that I would never leave you flapping in the wind like some cheap flannel shirt hanging on the line."

"Mom, you didn't even ask me."

"Ariel, I am twice your damn age, why the hell would I ask you how to live my life? I made a decision and I took care of you, promoted you and made sure that Marc would be looking after you...I did what I had to do...I was being a mother...whether you see it or not." Wilhelmina stormed off and back into the dining room to see Daniel cleaning up after Izak who had toddled to the living room to watch his _shows._

"Willie..." Daniel called out, seeing the distressed look on her face.

"I just don't understand why I have to explain MY decision to everyone...It's my choice...They acted like all that I've done hadn't mattered and it all boiled down to this and it doesn't...After everything I've done for Mode, and they act like I'm just bailing on them...on the magazine...When I finally do something for myself...

"Willie..."

"Is it too much to ask for a little support..."

"Willie..." She looked at him and he stepped forward, throwing on his suit jacket, before he left. "I support you...I love you and I support and I'll see you tonight...Unless you want to meet for lunch..."

"That sounds good." She agreed before exchanging a kiss. He smiled and she returned a weak one, not exactly in a smiley mood at that point.

**OoO**

Days passed, weeks flew by and the months rolled by on the calendar until they had welcomed the month of September, a time of chaos in the Fashion World. A world that had been shaken by the sudden announcement that Fashion Mogul Wilhelmina Slater-Meade would be replaced by her public arch-enemy, Claire Meade. Many speculated a divorce for Danny and Willie but they ignored it, soldiering on in the press. Wilhelmina began her monthly trips to France and Francesca was inevitably fired as soon as Willie arrived. Mode's sales began to decline and the Public became split against Claire and Wilhelmina, thinking and concocting stories of conspiracy and ultimately Wilhelmina came out as a rose and others looked at Claire like a control freak, taking Mode form Wilhelmina. But they didn't know the whole story...Consequently, sales went down and Mode began to sink but...Wilhelmina had no intention of returning. Instead...She and Daniel got busy doing _other _things...

"Wilhelmina!" Daniel bellowed as soon as he came through the day, shedding himself of his jacket without hesitation, dropping his briefcase as well, not really caring about where it landed. She came around the bend, a smile on her face. A smile that sound descended into a battle as he assaulted her lips feverishly, his hands roaming the pleasant land known as her body. His strength had lifted her onto his hips as he stood, feeling like a million bucks. She complied, going along with the program as he ascended the stairs and she stopped him, stabbing his back with her nails.

"Dammit Willie!"

"Izak...He's sleeping..." She spoke between heavy breaths. Nodding, a devious smirk appeared on his face and she pierced his back again in curiosity. "Where-"

"Are you aware of how painful that is?"

"Why do you think I'm doing it?" She questioned innocently, feeling herself being lowered onto a cool surface. She looked around and instantly recognized her surroundings before looking straight ahead, slapping the chest that hovered over her. "No, not my desk!"

"What did I tell you about wearing pants?" He growled fumbling with the snaps at the top.

"It's cold!"

"You're ovulating."

"That's not sexy." She commented, settling her arms over her chest. Daniel looked at her and lifted a brow, and she mockingly did the same as if to challenge him. She shrieked when he pinned her down, not allowing her to move, a smirk still adorning his face.

"I have let you whip me, puncture me, set me partially on fire and get your acrylic nails stuck in my back, You will stay here and you will wear more skirts, got it?"

She looked at him, sensing the confidence behind his eyes. If it were any other man she probably would have kicked their ass but since it was him...And he looked just too damn sexy trying to tell her what to do, She would oblige him for the time and kick his ass when he least expected.

She nodded innocently and he smiled. "Now what time is your flight?"

"10:00."

"And what time is it now?"

"5:00."

"Good..." He lowered himself down even further, his lips leaving a trail of lust down her neck. "Then we have time...to try...something..."

"Try som-" Before her words could even merit a period, her back was against the wall and he had pressed into her, ceasing and replacing all communication for groans of satisfaction. His thrusts became quicker, inclining her head to rest against his shoulder, her nails still finding common ground on his back.

"Willie..." He warned, teeth grinding against each other.

"Keep moving like I'm a fucking air hockey slot and you'll be looking like Swiss cheese."

And yet again they were disturbed...but not by their own cognition but something...much more disturbing. HE yelped in pain, feeling her nails break skin and he lost his grip on her. She slid down the wall and he fell back to see Izak standing there, clutching his giraffe, horror on his face. Daniel scurried to the corner and Wilhelmina turned around to button _herself. _The horror continued when they heard Marc and Amanda's voice.

"Don't cry Izak...From the look of your daddy's back, he was being more hurt than your mommy was..."

"Hey Marc, How much does celeb porno sell on the internet?"

Daniel turned back around to see Willie sitting on the floor, head in her hands, shoulders falling from laughter. His stone expression fell and also descended into that of laughter, advancing towards her to offer a hand. She accepted his help and stood to her feet, cheeks red and hot. He had never seen her so embarrassed and knew he probably wouldn't once she got done with Marc and Amanda.

She threw her thumb back, pointing at Marc and Amanda as they entered the kitchen.

"Go." He released her, watching as she sprinted across the bend, yelling obscenities.

"I have a sudden taste for assistant blood!"

**OoO**

After certain _incidents_ Wilhelmina left for Paris and was back after what seemed like an eternity to _some people_. After a nice celebratory meeting, she spoke to Daniel whose heart was beginning to grow even fonder with absence.

"I love you too..."

_"I don't know if I can take you going to Paris so much..."_

"Oh really now?"

_"Really! I'm going out of my mind here...I miss you.."_

"I'm an hour away..."

_"That's too long..."_

"Well where are you?"

_"I'm in the car...Just leaving Mode...I just closed a deal with Armani...Little Champagne...Little celebration...Missing a little bit of you..."_

"I'll be there in a bit...Congratulations..."

_"I love you..."_

"You said that al-" She stopped, hearing the screech of tires in the distance through her phone. "Hello?" She asked, panicked. When she got no answer, her voice raised even higher. "Daniel!" He never answered.

**OoO**

Wilhelmina strutted down the corridor of the hospital after having Marc to find out all the information that she needed to know. In her White top coat and black pants, her heels stomped on the tiles, sounding like hammers, drawing attention to herself.

"Willie!" Hearing, her name being called, she turned around to see him down on a hallway, standing up to embrace her. She made her way to him as quickly as possible, feeling a sense of relief when she felt his arms embrace her for what seemed like a lifetime.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her hands cupping his cheeks, seeing the bruise on the side of his head.

"I'm fine I just...Willie you don't know who I hit..."

"Why is the President of Condé Nast doing here?" She questioned, looking over him, her hands still around his face.

His hands rested on her waist as he spoke, looking back. "Don't look over there." his tone changed, switching the atmosphere. "Baby, The Town Car that I hit and Ana Wintour inside...I didn't know, I just had a glass of champagne...They are trying to say that I was drunk...I didn't know see her car...She came out of nowhere...but Condé Nast Publications wants to bring the hammer down on me and I don't know why...It wasn't my fault...She ran a red light...I wasn't drunk I just had a glass...But they're threatening to sue me and take Meade for everything I have."

"Daniel, they can't do that, you weren't even drunk."

"It doesn't matter, I just had a drink...They want to test my alcohol levels, they called the police...I don't have time to explain but they want to talk to you..."

"About what?"

"I don't know."

"But how is Ana?"

"She's in a coma...I didn't mean it, Willie." He shook his head, a guilty look on his face. She embraced him quickly, trying to get him to pull himself together.

"Daniel, I need you to get it together...I know you didn't mean it and I know it wasn't your fault...Don't let them see you sweat...I'll...I'll handle this..."

Wilhelmina walked passed him and further down the hall to where Robert Sauerberg and Charles Townsend stood, President and CEO of Condé Nast. They greeted her with a smile that she didn't return. The only contact she made was with a cold handshake that lasted only a few seconds. Slowly, she felt Daniel walk up behind her and she glanced at him to see that he had pulled it together.

"Mrs. Meade..." Robert spoke up smugly, referring to her under her married name. "We wanted to speak with you about this incident...in private."

"Why me?"

"Well...Your husband here put the Editor-In-Chief of our flagship, _Vogue _in a coma right before Fashion Week, in the busiest season of the year...Now we could sue him...and bring down our largest competition being Meade or you could do us a favor.

"I don't take kindly to threats, Mr. Sauerberg...Nor do I like what you're implying if we fail to comply."

"Well I'm sure you'd be happy to oblige. Our terms are quite simple."

"Well what are they?"

"Either we take down Meade or we sweep this under the rug as a Drunk driver incident, take your husband out of the equation and you...run Vogue for us..."

"You want me...To work for you?" Wilhelmina asked shakily, feeling conflicted by the fact that it was a great opportunity and yet Mode's biggest competitor.

"You're the best and the doctors are not very optimistic about Ms. Wintour's condition...They don't think that she will be waking up any time soon...So we want you to replace her...You have the same effect, you're popular, you're excellent at what you do and we...we need you...and considering the circumstances...You need us." Wilhelmina gulped discretely, feeling Daniel's nails dig into her coat at the small of her back.

"Can you give us a moment please?"

"Of course, take all of the time you need." Sauerberg and Townsend walked away to speak with the incapacitated Editor's doctors, leaving Daniel and Willie alone to discuss their options.

"Willie, I don't want you to be dragged into this." Daniel shook his head, in defiance.

"And I don't want Meade to go under and that is exactly what will happen if I don't do what they ask."

"But Willie...Vogue? They're the enemy..."

"I know but...Your career is at stake..."

"So is yours..."

"This is...a big opportunity..." She whispered, hoping that he wouldn't hear her.

He stopped, touching her hand shortly. "Willie...do you want...to take the job?"

She shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know, I just got off of a freaking 10 hour flight...This is just happening so fast but I do know that I can't stay home for much longer...I'm no housewife...And Mode France was not meeting needs…" He rose a brow and she recoiled. "Fashion wise that is…Fashion wise…You're doing a wonderful job…with my nightly needs..

He smirked, chuckling at the fact that she could always change his mood despite his circumstances. "You want to be my competition?"

"Don't put it like that...I'm helping you...This...this is in both of our best interests..."

"But if you take over Vogue, you guys will kill Mode...Then Meade will go under regardless..."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know...Maybe we should sleep on it."

"By tomorrow, the press will have found out and they will want answers...Our decision determines those answers Daniel...If they find out that you were in the car, they'll start to talk...they'll say that you did it on purpose..'

"They'll say that you're trying to take me down by replacing Ana Wintour..."

"Well then what do we do?"

"Babe..." Sauerberg and Townsend began to advance towards them and Daniel leaned towards her, slipping his hand around her neck and behind her hair, kissing her as if to influence her answer. When she moaned softly, he pulled away, pecking her lips once more before speaking. "...It's your choice...Do what you think is best." He walked away and watched from a far as the two men approached his wife and she shook their hands firmly, as confirmation for him. The two men's egotistical smirks were enough to assure him what she had done. She made her choice.

Wilhelmina Slater was now Editor-In-Chief of a Fashion Magazine...Just like that...In 90 minutes she had become the Editor-In-Chief of the enemy...their antagonist... After years of being the enemy without having to try she now, with the intent to do good, ended up being the enemy once again. She now worked for Vogue Magazine and even though he wouldn't show it...He wished she had made another choice.

**OoO**

_There are few things that manage to piss me off but one of them is people smacking with their mouth open as they chew. The other one is low review numbers when I knew people are reading. I have worked very hard on theses chapters and I thank the few people who have shown me their support. But encouragement goes a long way and the less encouragement, makes me not want to post any chapters. Grade Gold literally had to convince me to post tonight because I was not going to. I did not think many cared despite the high reader levels in parallel to the review numbers. I won't beg anyone…but even if it is one word…Review. It goes a long way =D._

_-__**NWJ**_

**OoO**


	4. Is Love Enough?

_Okay, so I am helping my sister move tomorrow and then I have to go to New Year's Service tomorrow so I won't be able to update...So I updated tonight and hope it was not an inconveience to you. Thanks for the terrific reviews! They are EXACTLY what I needed to lift my spirits and I hope that these lovely words of encouragement continue to flow. Enjoy! =D_

_**-NWJ**_

"But let's make something very clear..." Her fake smile soon transformed into the disdain that she truly felt, striking a cold chill up the men's spines. Her glare continued, running blue trains through their faces that soon ran cold with fear. "I'm no one's bitch so wipe those stupid ass grins off of your face." They complied and she shifted gears, reaching back 5 years into the closet for the bitch she had put away for a rainy day. She was ready to dust the ol' girl off. "Now I didn't take this job because I'm afraid of you I took this job because Ana Wintour was a dear friend...Every time I mentioned her name in the papers, the word _bitch _was never far behind and it would be a disgrace to see the whimpering face of Vogue on the newsstands next to Mode's shining figures...That would just be embarrassing...But you are right about one thing...I'm am the best at what I do and that is why I make my own work schedule...I work for no one and if I do it sure as hell won't look like it because I'm stubborn as hell and won't listen to damn thing you say...because I'm Wilhelmina Meade...What you say does not matter to me nor does it apply to me." Sauerberg looked to Townsend, an unsettling look on his face as if to beg the question: _What the hell have we just done? _Willie lifted a brow and pursed her lips, arms folding along her chest. "Now where do I sign? I don't have all day..."

"Ummm...We...We have it, right..." Townsend reached in his breast pocket and pulled out a manila envelope in which Wilhelmina's claws quickly landed on. "...here..." He looked at her in questioned and she cocked an eyebrow, prompting his release. She looked inside and pulled out a couple of papers that she handed back.

"I don't want to sign my assistant to Vogue so you can keep those...I also don't want these _temporary _Editor-In-Chief papers...I don't do temporary...You either have me or you don't."

"Well when Ana wakes up-"

"If she hasn't bounced back from that double divorce I highly doubt that she is going to wake up from a coma." She rummaged some more and pulled out more documents. "I don't want a 2 year contract either...We're doing a month-to-month basis."

"We want you on a 2 year-"

"Shhhhh." Her hand silenced him, mocking his mouth in a closed position. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time, I don't give a rats ass about what you say...So don't say anything because I won't listen anyway...It's a waste of breath." She continued to look and finally pulled out a formidable document. "Here….I am willing to sign the masthead papers but other than that, you need to revise those and get them back to me by tonight because I assume you will be holding a press conference in the morning in light of recent events."

"Well not tomorrow morning-"

"Well you should...Any later and Conde Nast will look like a bunch of buffoons who aren't on their job and now that I am a part of this company, I will have no such thing...So schedule it." Her last words came menacingly enunciated before she tucked the folder under her arms and extended a hand, shaking their trembling ones. "And don't text me using sophomoric humor in an attempt to _keep up with the times_...I don't find it funny and if you do so I will block you and have your cell phone service cancelled."

They stared at her in shock as her feet twisted in the wind to walk away. She approached Daniel quickly, seeing the utter fear in his eyes, knowing that he had heard what she said and how she said it and she was surprised not to see him on the ground shaking. Her hand grabbed his, leading him down the corridor and out of the side door. As she rushed the sidewalk, she felt him grab her roughly, pulling him to her, an urgency in his voice.

"Let me see your face..."

"What-"

"Let. Me. See. Your. Face." He whispered harshly until she looked up at him and he had to make sure...he needed to make sure that she was still the woman he married. He had experienced a scare too many before and was not willing to go through it again. He needed to see her face...He had to see her face.

"I'm still here..." She assured him, brushing against the plum of his cheek. "I'm not going anywhere either so breathe...its okay."

He let out a deep breath and she took his hand once again, walking up to her car since his was totaled. He went to the driver's side and she looked around, a smirk on her face. He stopped seeing her stop, not getting the message. "What's wrong?"

"I think you've driven enough tonight."

**OoO**

That next day, in the early morning hours Daniel pulled up in front of _Paulo's _the exclusive hotspot for everything beauty oriented for every A-list celebrity. Parking, he took off his seat belt abruptly and exited, all in vain seeing how she was already on her way out the door. Izak ran towards him excitedly, hood flapping in the wind before Daniel lifted him into the air upon connection. Wilhelmina smiled, seeing the two finally getting over their little overpass. Daniel opened the passenger door and kissed her cheek, what she expected since the night previous. He had been strange...distant...scared almost. But they hadn't talked about it since the time never presented itself. But in usual Wilhelmina fashion, him putting on his seatbelt became the perfect opportunity. Sensing a shift in the atmosphere, he cut her off at her first intake of breath in anticipation of what she might want to say.

"Tell me why you needed your nails done again..."

"Tomorrow is my first day at Vogue, I hope you didn't expect for me to show up with clear nail polish on like some type of Ingrate..."

"Willie..." He chuckled, recalling several accounts of her with said nail polish on. "I've seen you with clear nail polish on..."

"But not on my first day...I needed pitch black...Makes a statement."

"What? Shut up and listen?"

"That and...Well that." She shrugged as they pulled off, taking to the highway.

"I don't see why you couldn't have gotten it done after your doctor's appointment."

"My doctor is gay Daniel...He's marrying my best friend...I refuse to be the butt of a joke at their dinner table."

"Did you just say best friend?" Daniel turned to look at her briefly before returning his concentration to the road.

"Shut up." She turned her head, folding her arms over her chest childishly.

"Oh my God, Babe you have softened."

"I have not! Take that back or I'll recreate the Texas Chainsaw Massacre right here in this car." He looked at her, a chuckled on his lips that soon died when he got a glance at her cocked brow and serious mug that seemed to want to jump on him.

"Alright, alright...Next topic..."

"Vo-"

"Were you ever fat, Willie?"

"Excuse me?" She exclaimed, holding onto the console so that she didn't jump on him and have them wind up wrapped around a tree somewhere.

"Wait, no I didn't mean it like that...I just wanted to know...you know...Everybody has their fat stage." He shrugged and she was still staring him down as if he had lost his mind.

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Oh come on Wills, play fair...Let's see..." He feigned a thought, eyes flickering between the road and the sky "….My fat stage was...5-12..."

His eyes shifted to her direction and she huffed, rolling her own. "Do you want me to work for Elle too? Keep your eyes on the road!"

Something changed. He faced forward and remained silent, an awkward tension building between them...An awkward tension that she immediately sensed. Tension that gave her the leeway to talk about what she wanted to.

"So how do you really feel?"

"How do I really feel about what?"

"Vogue..."

"It's fine...I don't really...-"

"If you say that you don't care, I will flip this car upside down...Because that would be a lie." She stopped him mid-sentence, her newly painted black nailed finger in the air.

"Willie, it really doesn't matter...It's what you wanted..."

"Are you serious right now?" She questioned an incredulous look on her face.

"Why, what-"

"Just drive!"

"Wilhelmina-"

"I said just drive!"

**OoO**

"Well how long has it been?"

"3 months..." Daniel answered with a mumble, both of them coldly separated by leather loft chairs.

"Well technically it's been 3 years but I've only paid attention to it for 3 months." Wilhelmina chimed in, tapping her nails on the wooden arm of the to make them of good use.

"Are you really going to correct me?" He retorted out of anger and sheer tension.

"Are you really going to start with me in a place where medical care isn't a factor if I need to hurt you?"

"So happy couple..." Dr. Smith began sarcastically. "I hear you two differ on opinions when it comes to how you want to approach this situation."

"I'm just saying..." Daniel cut in, not wanting her to cut him off. "Izak was conceived in a test tube...How romantic is that?...I just want a natural conception...I don't want In-Vitro."

"And what stirrups will you be in, Daniel? Oh and _Say my name Willie, _So goddamn romantic..." She spat back, biting at him with her words.

"Look..." Dr. Smith interrupted the banter sternly, cutting them both off at the knees. "If you too can't get along I don't see the point in bringing another child into this world...Especially when you're getting divorced soon anyway."

"What?" Simultaneously they spoke, jumping forward in their chairs with wild abandon as if to rush his desk.

Dr. Smith tried poorly to hide his smirk, inside, patting himself on the back for letting his reverse phycology work. "I mean... this...this isn't love what I hear."

"I..." He glanced in her direction, taking her hand from her own armrest and placing it on his. "I love my wife, how dare yo-"

"Alright, there we go..." Dr. Smith cut him off, getting to the point and getting over that rough patch. "Now as far as age goes...Your chances of conceiving at this point are slim to none...You're 47...You have had a heart attack and two heart surgeries in the last 4 years and...Your body is still in recovery and I don't think it's even ready to handle another pregnancy..." Daniel tightened his hold on her hand, feeling her want to pull away, stiffening under his touch. "But...If you still want more children...May I suggest surrogacy...Adoption...a lot of lost children out there that would love to be adopted by two successful peop-" Wilhelmina cut him off, standing abruptly to storm out, not wanting to hear anything else. Daniel stood behind her, shaking Dr. Smith's hand quickly before running after her. He stood at the end if the corridor, the glass door reflecting the scene of the swarming paparazzi that began to engulf her, bombarding her with questions. Now Wilhelmina Slater could hold her own...in many situations but...there are two things she doesn't like...Pyromaniac tic activity and people crowding her with questions that she did not know the answer to….

Daniel ran out, just in time to push through the crowd. As soon as they saw him, the chaos diffused slowly and they made a path as if their story had immediately died when he got there. But their words...didn't go unheard.

_"Vogue...Replacing Ana Wintour...Revenge on the Meades...Trickery...sham of a marriage..."_

**OoO**

Silently, Daniel opened the front door and opened it for her; not knowing why she stopped in the doorway until he walked passed and saw the three familiar faces. Wilhelmina rolled her eyes, hand on her hip. "Okay seriously, who gave them a key?"

Is that why you left Mode?" Ariel spoke up first, arms crossed over her chest. "To go to Vogue?"

"Willie, how could you go work for the enemy?" Marc chimed in, disappointment drenching his high pitched attempt at a monotone. "You haven't pulled anything like this since your old Willie days..." He winked at her, smirking at their old ways.

Wilhelmina looked to Daniel and when he didn't say anything a smile graced her face and her hands went up in surrenderance. "You know what I didn't trick Daniel...I did it FOR Daniel...He was the _other_ person in the car that put Ana Wintour in a coma." She yelled angrily, scolding the three young Mode employees. "And If I hadn't taken the job He would be in jail right now for attempted vehicular manslaughter and a DUI...But of course..." She chuckled, shrugging. "...You all know that because you read the tabloids and heard the news and then of course...You know _me..._" The last bit was said with an echo of sarcasm that bit them all unmercily. With one final stare down she walked up stairs and slammed whatever door she entered...But she slammed it nevertheless.

"Uhhhh...What was that?" Daniel asked.

"I know...We just wanted to talk." Amanda added.

"No, you guys...What was that? You bum rushed her and you're lucky you're still alive...In fact I'm surprised she handled that the way she did because now she is even more upset than before."

"I don't know what we did." Ariel shrugged, not seeing the problem.

"Yeah...I mean does she not expect her past to follow her?" Amanda asked, confused.

"Well Amanda, it's been 4 years...She has changed and we all know that...I think she's just angry that you're treating her like these last couple of years has meant nothing...I think you really upset her and...Even though that has been easy lately...She has feelings...And I think you hurt them."

He turned around and followed the trail she left behind and walked up stairs, eyeing each door to see which one was tightly closed. Seeing Izak's door being that way, he instantly entered and found the two in the middle of the floor, a bucket of Legos between them.

Leaning the doorway, he spoke up in hopes of not being ignored. "What are you building there bud?"

Izak looks up happily, a huge grin on his face, baring his small white teeth. "A puppy."

"Ohh a puppy...Mommy what are you building?"

"A nuclear bomb." She replied monotonously, her back to him as she spoke.

"Willie..."

"Daniel I don't want to talk."

"Willie..."

"No...Apparently I was born the devil and I'm going to die the devil..."

"That's not true."

"Obviously it is." She retorted in a way that lead him to leave her alone, making puppies and nuclear bombs with Izak.

**OoO**

That night, creeping into their bedroom he was happy to find that she was already in bed...and Izak was there too. Daniel approached the bed and Izak stretched out on his side of the bed, preventing him from getting in. He chuckled, rolling over the toddler only to have him bounce right back. "Okay, bud I thought we settled this."

"I don wanna sleep ower deer."

"Why?"

He turned around, cuddling next to Wilhelmina who was already asleep. Daniel pulled at his arm and Izak jerked away, whining a bit. Wilhelmina groaned in her sleep, waking up slightly. "Scream why don't you...I don't need sleep at all." A sleepy bout of sarcasm made him jump back, not expecting her to be awake.

Daniel bent down at his eye level, his chin setting on the bed. "Come on..." He took Izak by the hand and watched him scoot off the bed, wobbly walking sleepily in his footy-pajamas. Daniel led him to his room and opened the door. Izak inched closer and closer towards him, clutching at his calf.

"Izak..."

"Dere arwe monsters in dere..."

"There are no monsters in your room Izak."

"Lie!"

"Izak."

"Mommy! Mommy! Mo-" Daniel clasped a hand securely over his mouth and hushed him before ushering him into the room kicking and screaming. He closed the door and sat him down on the bed in which Izak promptly scampered off, cutting his eyes at his own place of slumber.

"Is the monster under your bed?"

"You sed dere were no monsters."

"Okay...Is that were you think there is a monster?" He nodded and Daniel crawled under the bed, Izak still talking.

"He's gonna eat you."

"He's not going to eat m-Holy crap!" Startled by what was under there, he pumped his head on the bottom of the bed and slid from beneath it. "What are Aunt's Amanda's shoes doing under your bed?"

"Shoes?"

He looked back at the bed shortly and turned up his nose, shaking his head in confusion. Looking at the analog clock, he shrugged and took Izak back to where Wilhelmina was and let him sleep, at this point not really feeling like doing anything especially removing Amanda's shoes and pile of lipstick bombs..._He hoped they were lipstick bombs._

**OoO**

She now rode the elevator of the Conde Nast building, no one beside her, next to her or with her. She was now alone to fight any battle by herself. Though she told Marc to only depend on himself...She had always depended on him. Now she had no one and had to start all over, begin again...Make a new name under the Vogue emblem. Stepping off at the top floor, heads turned upon seeing her and she didn't even flinch because it was nothing compared to what was downstairs. Reaching her destination, she opened the office of Robert Sauerberg and he immediately stood upon seeing her face...and well her outfit She wore a white, form fitting, scoop neck that clung to her body and highlighted the wave of curls that adorned her face and red lipstick that made her attacks even the more subtle. He shook her hand in a trembling fashion as if he were afraid of her. "I hope you got those papers that we sent over..."

"I faxed them back to you already."

"Was there something wrong with them?"

"No...I signed them...That was the point of sending them." A snippy tone crept in her voice and she rolled her eyes, hoping this wouldn't be too long of a day. "Now why am I here...My real day was supposed to be tomorrow."

"Well...I just wanted you to meet a couple people beforehand...Ginger." He called out and a timid redhead stepped forward to shake her hand. "This is your new assistant."

"Hi, Ms. Slater...or Mrs. Meade I mean...Mrs. Slater-Meade...it's a ho- no a pleasure...no a hon-"

"Don't worry about it dear you won't be here for very long anyway." Wilhelmina assured her, knowing that the girl would do something to piss her off and prompt her own termination.

"Okay...And this...is your new Creative Director." Wilhelmina prepared herself as a thick Latin accent glided against the walls and she spun around to see him standing there. Rodrigo Ambrossi. His wide smile, a smirk of deception. Her body instantly stiffened and Sauerberg was as blind to this as a bat. "Rodrigo-"

"-Ambrossi." Wilhelmina finished for him, unimpressed.

"Do you two know each other?" Robert looked to both of them and Wilhelmina stood still, keeping her nonchalant cool on the outside yet only wanting to run on the inside.

"All too well." Rodrigo spoke softly before walking up to her, adding a light squeeze to her shoulders as he mockingly kissed her cheek instead of the customary air kiss between Fashion Moguls. He wanted to make her sweat...He wanted to see her unprepared. This was the intention...his intention.

"I'm going to go check on that fax Wilhelmina and let you two...catch up...Ginger." He motioned to the redhead and left the room with her. As soon as the hinges clicked Rodrigo's smile fell into a hideous frown that could easily be deciphered as an evil glare. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and she swatted at his hand, determined not to allow him to break her.

His lips pressed against her ear softly and his words circled her lobe, swirling through her ear. "You think you're evil...You have seen nothing yet." His accent sent a shiver down her spine, haphazardly paying attention to his actual words. He pulled away and she exhaled discretely. "That...OR you can make it up to me."

"I never did anything to you."

"You tricked me." He responded angrily. "You told me that if I slept with the freak, I'd get the Editorial Position at Mode Brazil...I never got it."

"That was what Bradford told you...And you never finished the job."

"I don't care about Bradford; you were fucking the both of us!" He yelled at her, knowing his words made her uncomfortable. "And now his son..."

"Watch it." She warned, growing furious with his word choice.

He stalked towards her and his finger landed in her face, pointing exclusively at her eyes. "I was promised something...And I am going to get it...I will be Editor In Chief of a magazine...Even if I have to take you down first just to get there...It will happen...Either that...Or I'll get to hear you scream out my name..." His icy claws pawed her face once more and she flinched under his misodomous touch. "...One...last...time."

Wilhelmina tried to keep her composure; she tried in vain for her sanity to resist the accent that made her melt and the husk that lingered her ears. A smug smirk appeared on her face and she spoke, equal in solder and temptation. "Then I guess this means war…." She shook her head, quite sure of herself as she flashed him a genuine smile. "…because the only time I will be screaming your name is with the words _fuck off_."

"Don't kid yourself Wilhelmina... I made your insides tingle…." He approached her slowly, moving his lips to her ear. "…your legs quiver and just the tip of my finger…." He trailed his index down her shoulder and she shrugged him quickly, not willing to succumb. "… made you moan in approval. We broke your headboard...twice...You couldn't resist me then and you can't...resist... me... now." His lips now lingered dangerously close to hers and she stepped back before she became intoxicated with his appearance, the way his eyes glistened, and that accent...good God the accent.

He touched her cheek and she flinched back, catching him at the wrist. "Do you know who you're fucking with?"

"All. To. Well." He responded with equal fervor, snatching away from her before advancing in the direction of the door. He turned around one last time, his licentious smile returning. "See you at work tomorrow...Boss."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina traipsed through the house that night after driving around on endless miles for endless hours, not paying attention to either. After compiling her thoughts into a messy pile she returned home and found Daniel in his home office that was right next to hers on the first floor.

Not hearing any footsteps, he smiled warmly when he felt her hands travel down his chest before retracting and working on his shoulders. "Where have you been?"

"Driving...Thinking..."

"Why, what happened?"

"Nothing..."

"You only drive willingly when you're upset about something...what's going on." He spun around in his chair and pulled her down on his lap, which she happily complied. "Did you fire someone already?"

"I'm working on it."

He chuckled and she played with his hair, running a hand through it, the only noise for a moment being the sliding of her bangles up and down her wrist.

He turned back to his desk and she stayed perched on his lap, peering at the papers on the very top. "What's that?"

"Nothing, just the financial workup for Mode from the last couple of months."

"How is it doing?" He was silent and she ceased her movement, noting the serious mood of the room. "Daniel?"

"I...I don't understand it Wills...The September issue is always one of our top sellers...The numbers just don't make sense...People are quitting left and right...My mom is neglecting Hot Flash and running between that and Mode...5 advertisers just pulled out including the Land Rover account."

"But, I just landed that one in June..."

"And they don't want to do business with my mother...Just you...So be expecting a call from them because they probably want to advertise in Vogue now..."

She had no words to say. What could she say? _Sorry for saving your ass. Oh, I'll send them your way and let Claire completely ruin the relationship. I'm sorry your mother sucks. _No...She couldn't _…..No matter how much she wanted to say the last one._ She just lifted his chin and kissed him shortly, trying to be a place of solace despite her own internal conflict. "Don't let the job get to you..."

"You know what." His hands clasped securely around her waist, a sad smile gracing his face. "I am going to get you something...Anything you want...Anything..."

"What?"

"Willie, you saved me from going to jail...You...took a job that I know you didn't want to and despite all that I know you' still smileright now you...You still keep me going...And I want to Thank you….How" He lifted her hand to his lips perching his lips to the soft back shortly. "Can I thank you ..."

She smiled at him weakly, a guilt sitting in the pit of her heart as she brushed away the memory of Rodrigo as her thumb did the same to the blush on his cheek. "Whatever happens...Love me." She whispered, feeling emotions that she didn't like begin to rise.

He looked at the glistening in her eyes and nodded slowly, not really understanding at the moment. She smiled a close-mouth smile and stood from his lap, pulling him up by his hand before they had any tears come. "Let's...Let's go to bed."

"Willie." He called out, an uneasiness in his spirit.

She turned around quickly, patting his chest. "Just love me..." She nodded for him, pushing back her unsolicited salty reminders. "...Okay?"

He nodded and pulled her into a loving embrace, kissing the top of her head as she exhaled into his chest. "Okay." He agreed, although….He really didn't know what he was agreeing to.

**OoO**


	5. Be Your Parachute

_Enjoy! =D_

_**-NWJ**_

On that bright and early Monday morning Wilhelmina stalked the halls of Vogue as the new Anna Wintour, following behind her old executive assistant Claiborne Swanson who was leading her to the old office. First they took a left turn at the red and white box, similar to Amanda's receptionist desk. "That's Jennifer." Wilhelmina looked over at the desk to see the back of a blonde's head...She's never seen the back of Amanda's head...because she never worked...or left. Then they took down the long tunnel, that week the decoration being old cover photos of Ana Wintour. After that they passed a couple of more offices until they got to an isolated area with curtains shielding the outside and a desk sitting next to the door. Wilhelmina looked around to see that there was just one other office besides that one and it taped of, isolated as well and shielded from inside view. "That is Ms. Wintour's old office...Mr. Sauerberg wants us to clean it out and put your things in there."

Wilhelmina waived her hand before her face, shaking her head contently. "That won't be necessary."

"That's what he wants."

"Well I don't want that office."

"You've never seen that office."

"It was Ana Wintour's, I don't need to." She scoffed, knowing the evil that lurked among each Editor-In-Cheif's offices, specifically the females and she'd rather leave Ana's evil to itself.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Open the door." She demanded, snatching off her sunglasses.

"No, what was that supposed to mean?"

"Would you have asked _Ms. Wintour _the same question?"

"No, I actually respected _her_." Claiborne clarified. Wilhelmina's mouth formed a small 'o', a shock filling her. She had never been spoken too in such a way. She had never handled a situation like that and she didn't know how. And even before she could figure it out...The girl continued.

"Yesterday Mr. Sauerberg fired Ginger...because you didn't like her. She was the assistant to the Creative Director for 8 years...You manipulate people and you trick them, that's why I don't like you...We don't do that here..." Wilhelmina looked at her incredulously, squinting her eyes in confusion, anger, madness, hell she didn't know what to say. AND THE GIRL WASN'T EVEN DONE! "We don't trick men into marrying us, We don't marry old men for money and we don't have their children after their dead...And then marry their son..." Now the girl wanted to leave and it took all of Wilhelmina not to snatch her by the end of her head, drag her in the office and beat her ass...It took ALL of her.

But the one thing she did do was go in the office to find it empty...no desk...none of her said _things _that Claiborne alluded to. There was nothing but a red chaise...And it wasn't even hers! Now she was angry. She reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone, deciding to call the people she knew had her back. The people who she knew that she could depend on.

**OoO**

Daniel walked down the tunnel, nervous as all get out. He had never been to Vogue and the employees there were probably staring at him for that very reason. He looked around and stood, practically lost, the office not being in sight. He looked at his pocket and read what she had told him but his handwriting was so crappy that he couldn't even read it. Amanda snatched the paper from him and looked at it rolling her eyes. "And you wonder why I never get your messages."

"Guys come on! I worked here before, remember." Marc walked down the tunnel and Daniel followed.

Amanda leaned next to him, chuckling. "He was just an intern."

"EXECUTIVE INTERN!" Marc corrected from a distance. Amanda and Daniel followed, eyes boring into the back of their heads. They were the enemy. They were Mode people and most certainly hated by Vogue people. Employees instantly shielded their photo-shoots, darkened the screen that held their articles and ceased conversations as they passed. Sauerberg stopped Daniel halfway down the long tunnel, allowing Amanda and Marc to go.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to speak with my wife."

"Well you can't do that, she's working."

"She called me."

"She couldn't have, she hasn't used the office phone yet...There are no calls on it."

"Okay 1. You're watching her calls? And 2. It's called a cell phone." Daniel moved passed him and Sauerberg got in the way again, trying to stop him. "Okay, my wife called me and said that she needed me and you don't want me to go see her so let me give you some options." He started to get angry, upset that Sauerberg just wouldn't move. "You're either going to step aside and let me go or you're going to get hurt trying to keep me from going but either way...I'm going."

He pushed Sauerberg out of the way and charged down the long tunnel and to the narrow hallway that lead to two offices, isolated away from the rest of the floor. One door happened to be open and he took it to be hers. Stepping in, he was taken off guard by her charge towards him yet for the first time that charge wasn't because he had done something wrong...She just wanted someone to hold her... Marc looked to Amanda and they slipped out, seeing the two embrace. Wilhelmina pulled away and kissed him softly, holding fast to his face. "Tell me...Tell me who I am."

"Wilhelmina...Slater...Meade."

"Tell me again..."

"Willie what-"

"Just tell me!"

"You're Wilhelmina Slater Meade!"

"What do people do in my presence?"

"Cower...Cry...Wail...Die..."

"And if they don't?"

"You make them...Or kill them."

She detached for him and paced the floor, hands on her hips as she contemplated her next move. She had to think fast. She had to come up with a way to make the Vogue employees respect her...She needed to break them...It's what she worked on...She worked with pieces of people...Whole people were too much...Too opinionated...Claiborne was definitely so. Almost like a whole and a half.

"Willie what's wrong?"

"They're not afraid!" She yelled eyes wide. "They don't even blink when I speak...Hell I was two steps away from being cursed out by my own assistant! They didn't treat Ana like this, I know...Why are they being like this...They should be in their corners crying not gossiping."

"Maybe you need to prove to them that the Wilhelmina they read about in the tabloids is real...Make them fear you." He chuckled at the last sentence. No matter how crazy it seemed, he had always been turned on by her need to make people powerless to feel powerful...It made her seem human...It took away from the persona the media gave her and added to the heart he knew that she had.

"Okay...Okay I can...I can do that..." She nodded, feeling confident before giving him a parting kiss that he wouldn't let her pull away from as easily as she tried. His hands circled her waist and she fell into his arms, his lips, and his body. Before she knew it, they had fallen back onto that random red chaise and were interrupted before anything could go too far.

"I am so starting a porn website for those two." Amanda commented before stuffing the camera back in her pocket.

Daniel chuckled and sent them to the car before returning his gaze to Wilhelmina, her heavy breath and dazed eyes yearning for one last touch. He smirked and whispered along her lobe. "Be good...boss." Her smile fell instantly upon hearing the last word, instantly being brought back to what Rodrigo had spoken into her very lobe, with an equal passion. She stiffened beneath her and he noticed, setting up. "Are you okay?"

She nodded silently, getting up as well. "Yeah just um...Just getting my mind prepared for this meeting...Which is about to happen in about 2 minutes...Excuse me." She left the room abruptly, leaving him confused yet not even fathoming what she was thinking of...Having no idea what she was thinking of...Which was probably for the best.

**OoO**

The Vogue conference table was quite awkward. From a distance it looked like an isosceles triangle but up close you noticed that the very tip was shaved up to seat one single person; The Editor-In-Chief. It set that person away from everyone else...commanded respect and demanded honor. When Wilhelmina took to that spot...She expected the very same thing. The employees looked at her and whispered, paying her no mind as if they didn't care. They giggled, chuckled, had random conversations and pretended as if she wasn't standing there.

"Excuse me." Wilhelmina spoke and the noise only escalated, paying her no mind. "Excuse me..." Once again they continued, not saying a word. Suddenly she felt like Wanda again. The mousey assistant who never spoke up and consequently never got heard. She hadn't been that woman in over 20 years and was not about to allow her to resurface again especially by the cause of a couple of under-paid wannabe's. She reached down discretely and pulled off her red platform pump, looking around before banging it on the table angrily, bringing a hush over the entire building. "I Said... Silence." she whispered menacingly, the volume so low that if a pin dropped, the equivalent would be screeching on a chalkboard. "The next time...that I have to speak...to get your attention...Will be the last time that you hear my voice because You will either be fired on the spot or be killed at the hands of an Italian mobster.." She looked around at each and every face, making eye contact with every assistant and Editor. "I do not tolerate disrespect nor do I tolerate ignorance. I understand that Ana Wintour was dear to you all but right now she is incapable of fulfilling the duties of this position...And that is why I am here...I am not here to listen to you blue-collar conversations, water cooler jokes and watch you parade in TJ Maxx clearance rack clothes..." She scowled in the direction of a specific group, talking indefinitely about them. "Now this morning I was informed by Claiborne Swanson that Vogue was basically above me and that I don't belong here...I find that quite ironic coming from someone who's first name is a last name and man's first name...also someone who is a spoiled brat and family's fortune came from TV DINNERS..." She turned in Claiborne's direction and lifted a brow, lips pursed and waiting for her to say something. "I don't give a damn how Ana Wintour did things before...Because I'm here now and if I want you to where red every Wednesday and nude pumps every Tuesday, you'll do so and you'll look like a Cheshire cat doing it...Because this my show now..I drive this car, steer this boat and run this magazine, if you want to get out, jump ship or quit go right ahead but don't expect to get another job anywhere else. You thought Ana had power...Try me and see just how much power is too much for one person." Audible gulps and wicked eyes stared back, some angry, some indifferent and others scared shitless. "From now on...All photos are approved through me...Send all of the articles for the upcoming issue to me and-"

"But the issue is already put to bed." Claiborne spoke up, sharp in tone.

"TV dinners...Did I tell you to speak?" Wilhelmina looked at her, the depths of her eyes begging the question that her mouth had asked. "Did I ask you a question?" Claiborne was silent, turning her attention back to her notebook. "Oh...okay...See I thought I heard your voice..." Wilhelmina rolled her eyes and returned to the large group, face a frown. "Another thing...I don't like unsolicited conversations...If I don't greet you...don't greet me...I don't want to hear your voices...They're nasally, high pitched and annoying...You've been shorthanded by God, take it up with him but don't torture me..." A few people got up and left and she shrugged, figuring that they were no good anyway. "Finally, Tomorrow offices are close until 1pm...Next week...is Fashion Week...The Designers are picked and the Fashion Show will be on That Monday. To kick start the week, we will be playing Mode in a charity softball game on that Saturday morning and then that evening will be our black and white ball...On Sunday all of the Senior Editors will meet here at 9 am to discuss the press release for each department. Sunday is the brunch between Vogue, Elle and Mode in which all heads of department will be required to attend. On Tuesday Everyone's contracts will be negotiated and some of you will be let go while others have room to be promoted. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all Editors will be assigned a fashion show that they will need full coverage on. That includes a thousand word articles and HD photos, see Ron for the provided cameras. On Saturday night, Fashion Week will be concluded with the MAMA awards in which I expect you all to be in attendance. No one is exempt from these activities and if you think that you are, come see me and I'll assure you that you're not. "Any questions?" Wilhelmina looked around, brows raised. They were all silent. No one chuckled...no one snickered or whispered. There were no sidebar conversations and the honor and the respect of the triangle tip had been restored...Through fear...but nevertheless...It had been restored.

**OoO**

Daniel walked in their bedroom to find her position to be as if she had been thrown on the bed. The tired cloud thatching over her, showed in another face as she spoke in her sleep, muttering slurs of incoherency. He reached for her foot and slid off her pumps carefully, trying not to wake her. She stirred and curled up closer to her pillows, not paying attention to the bare feeling that now casted her foot. All she did was mutter, mumble and whisper. "No...No...Rod no...Not right...it's not right...Rod..."

"Who's Rod?"

Wilhelmina jolted forward, hair falling before her face when she heard his voice that had seemed so real in her dream that she thought he had caught her in the act of her fantasy. She looked up and he jumped back, having done so when she came forward. "I...uh...Aaron Rodriguez...his new collection...wasn't right..."

He nodded and she got up, hopping on one shoe to the closet. "I'm going to go change."

"Don't you want to tell me how your first day went?"

She mumbled from a distance and he shrugged it off. Honestly, after the meeting, her day went better since Claiborne stayed out of her way up and it helped that Rodrigo didn't show up either. As hard as the day was, it was a sea breeze compared to the days she faced ahead.

**OoO**

Wilhelmina and Daniel rode silently in the car, the early morning beginning to weigh heavily on their eyes. His hand moved to her thigh as they cruised the highway, hitting a bit of traffic. "Hey...Cheer up...Family picnic time."

"I'm tired as fuck."

"Wilhelmina!"

"Sorry...hell."

"Well babe you were the one up till like 3 am in the kitchen...sitting there."

"I was not just sitting there."

"Oh I'm sorry, you were breathing too."

"I couldn't sleep..."

"Willie..."

"See Izak is tired too." She looked back to see him knocked out, hunched over his car seat in a deep slumber.

Daniel shook his head and chuckled, pressing a button at the side of the steering wheel." Wilhelmina smiled softly, feeling her chair recline back into a flat surface. She looked to him and he nodded, giving her the go ahead. "Go to sleep."

And sleep she did until they reached their destination. After exiting and setting up their place, Daniel woke his two sleepy heads who slumped lazily out of the car, only wanting a pillow to lie on and blanket to cuddle beneath. After an hour Wilhelmina found herself lying against his chest as they sat on a checkered spread in a quiet park, watching Izak eat grapes one by one, making a sour pucker face each time.

She felt the security of his arms beneath his hold, feeling them circle around her. For a moment...She felt at peace...She felt calm. For a moment...they were the only three people in the world...For a moment.

Surprisingly the paparazzi were yet to rear their ugly head but someone had shown up to make up for their short coming.

"What a beautiful family." She instantly recognized his accent; the emphasis on beau- and enunciated 3 syllables in the word _family _made her neck snap to the point of near injury. Daniel turned around, looking in confusion. "Who are you?" He stood before Wilhelmina could stop him and found himself to be rather taller than Rodrigo, looking down at the smaller Brazilian. Wilhelmina froze, stuck to the ground as Daniel shook his hand and Rodrigo explained.

"Did your _wife _not tell you...I am her new Creative Director...The uhh...Chocolate chip to her uhhhh... cookie...this is how you say it, no?"

Wilhelmina stood and pulled on Daniel's bicep, Izak's arm clinging to her leg. Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the man. "I know you from somewhere."

"You should...I was the Creative Director of Mode Brazil..."

Daniel nodded, chuckling before rearing back and cramming his fist into the face of the chiseled features of his face, watching him stumble back in pain. He flicked his fingers angrily, seeing a woman and little boy run up to him.

"Daniel!" Wilhelmina scorned, confused.

Daniel turned around, shaking his head. "That's the bastard that slept with Alexis and tried to get her to leave the country."

_Shit! _He remembered him. Wilhelmina pushed Daniel back and stood toe-to-toe with a similar woman of her stature, only Latino, her distinct features leaning towards Columbian descent.

"What is your husband's problem?"

Rodrigo got up, sniffling from the impact to his nose. "It's okay honey...Just a little uhh... animosity with old acquaintances."

"Is this your wife?" Wilhelmina questioned, holding Daniel back.

"And our son..." The woman added, holding onto to the little boy, who was no more than 8, by his chest.

Wilhelmina stared at Rodrigo in disgust as Izak clung to her leg, holding his Sippy cup in his hands. Daniel narrowed his eyes in his direction, pointing a finger in his face. "Stay away from my family..."

"Daniel." Wilhelmina turned around, pushing him back.

"What is going on?" The woman questioned. Rodrigo whispered in her ear and smiled deviously towards Wilhelmina and Daniel. He moved towards Wilhelmina and Daniel threw his arm around her, pushing her backwards, facing the man alone.

"I said stay away."

"Fair enough..." Rodrigo nodded, pushing his wife back as well. "A man must protect his own...Just be careful... " He smirked. " Your own may try to get away..." Rodrigo locked eyes with Willie and she held steadfast to Daniel's bicep, pulling him backwards.

"Daniel let's go..." Daniel wouldn't budge, breathing heavily and only wanting to lunge at him. Willie tugged at him once more, turning him around. Her hands laid flat on his chest and she stood on her tippy toes, kissing him softly. "Let's go...come on." He nodded silently, seeing the plead of her eyes. He complied...doing what she asked...But not without one last look at the man who almost caused the single dissolution of his family...And unbeknownst to him...The man who was about to strike again.

**OoO**

Their ride home was silent, neither saying a word and the only words being the occasional babble by Izak. Coming through the door, Daniel lugged the large picnic basket and Wilhelmina held Izak in her arms, sound asleep. After putting him down for a nap and getting in the shower, she took to the stairs in her work clothes, her body desperately yearning for a cup of coffee. Entering the kitchen, Daniel handed her one out of the blue and she smiled softly at how in sync they were. He leaned up against the wall, staring back at her as she sat at the island, sipping quietly on the warm liquid.

"I've always wondered why you installed a double oven." Wilhelmina commented quietly. "It's not like I'll ever used it."

He chuckled softly, his foot pressing on the wall. "True, but you will throw a fancy party once and a while and hire a catering service to provide the refreshments...Ergo, a double oven."

"Aren't you sweet...thinking ahead..."

"Wilhelmina we need to talk."

"About?"

"Two things...First...That Rodrigo guy...He rubs me the wrong way...I want you to keep your distance from him."

"He is the Creative Director..."

"And you were my Creative Director...I avoided you at all costs."

"Obviously it didn't work." She smiled, leaning back in the small chair.

"Well I fell in love with you...You won't be falling in love with him anytime soon so that is not an issue." He walked around the counter and set her cup down atop it. "Just be careful."

She swallowed, wanting to change the topic as quickly as possible. "Uhh...what was that second thing you wanted to talk about?"

He sighed, looking down before mustering up the courage to discuss it. "...We...we've been..._trying _for a while...And obviously it has been in vain...And considering the...circumstances...I think we should put it off."

She smirked, releasing a long breath of relief discretely. "Oh you don't want my Vogue babies?"

"Babies? You want more than one? Twins would be convenient..."

"Don't push it Meade." She smiled and scooted off of the chair, hands landing on his chest, feeling him lean down to plant his lips on hers. She kissed him back with an equal fervor, cupping his cheeks before relinquishing his mouth with a reluctant detachment. "I'm going to be late to work."

"You're the boss." He lifted her onto the counter, not caring about the time. "Anyone who gets there before you is early."

**OoO**

The days seemed to fly by like post-its in the wind, time ticking away until Fashion Week. Vogue became an environment operating in perfection...out of fear. IF she walked out of her office, all conversations ceased and attention turned to her. Interns followed her, waiting to be told what she needed, waiting to be instructed. Before she could even form a thought of a want, she already had it. The employees at Vogue Magazine were warming up...Out of fear...but nevertheless...They were warming up.

Before they knew it, it was Saturday and it was time for the softball game, pinning the two head magazines against each other. How this showdown would go? No one knew.

Daniel spotted Wilhelmina in the kitchen. He looked around to make sure Izak was nowhere around before sneaking up behind her, planting an array of kisses on her neck, his hands wrapped around her waist, pulling at the zipper of her jacket that now read the enemy's logo.

"Daniel..."

"You are so sexy..." He turned her around and she tightened her visor, smiling beneath its shade. "If we don't leave the house right now, we'll never make it to that game."

"We have to...I'm pitching..." She whispered before he began on her neck again, falling between a rock and a hard place. One side soon became silly putty when she saw a little 2 foot visitor, sporting an odd jersey. "Hey Izak."

"Daddy loves Mommy!" Daniel exclaimed, lifting his head immediately, turning around with a smile. Wilhelmina chuckled and adjusted Izak's cap.

"Tuck Down!" He exclaimed before running in place excitedy, arms in the air, and a large grin on his face,

"Actually bud, this time it's Strike 3, you're out!"

"Strep throw?"

"Strike 3- Never mind." He shook his head and Wilhelmina turned Izak around, looking at his outfit.

"Daniel what is this?" She questioned, looking at his jersey. Half of it was white and red and the other half was white and orange with the emblem across the front reading: _VODE _

"Well since we're on separate teams, rather than having him wear one or the other...I asked the seamstress in the closet to sew half and half together."

"He looks like a confused child."

"He looks like our child."

Izak smiled, his hands going up in the air once more. "Strep throw!"

**OoO**

Cameras flashed wildly as the Slater-Meade trio exited their car. Everyone wanted to know how it would go down, how they would get along and if they would even show. Izak held onto his parent's hands as they walked, both in full uniform. Wilhelmina left Ariel with Izak and looked to Daniel once more before reclaiming her place at Vogue.

_Well it looks like we will have some family competish here...Claire Meade will be pitching for her team and we can only hope that when she throws the ball, she won't throw out her back as well._

Strategizing with her team, Wilhelmina watched from a distance as Rodrigo walked over to Mode's side and approached Daniel, pulling him aside. Her attention was diverted and all she could do was hold onto the fence and pray to God that he would send an Earthquake just to prevent them from speaking.

Daniel looked at Rodrigo, unimpressed. Leaning against the fence. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to...apologize for uhhhh...intruding on your family moment...I just wanted to introduce myself...So you know who will be around your wife all day long."

"Well now I know and I don't like it...What's the point?"

"I wanted to...uhhh clear the air? I know you have some...doubt about me considering my past with your family but let me assure you...I have a family now...What happened in the past is over and done with...I want to start anew." Daniel stared into his eyes, undertanding his words of wisdom. He knew what marrying Wilhelmina and having Izak had donw to his maturty level and what it did to him period...He understood him...Or atleast he thought he did. He offered Daniel a handshake and Daniel complied, much to Wilhelmina's dismay.

_Up first to the bat is Mama Meade, representing Mode. Wilhelmina, her daughter-in-law, will be pitching for the opposing team. Do I smell a cat fight divas? I think I do!_

"The last time we were here weren't you pregnant? And fat?"

Wilhelmina smiled falsely. "Weren't you dead? Ooops...Sorry that was a fantasy." Wilhelmina positioned herself accordingly and threw the ball in Claire's direction and Claire swung and missed, lifting a chuckle from Willie's voice. "Don't strain yourself Claire; I don't think your Insurance Policy covers a simultaneous injury of the hip, neck and back."

"Bite me Wilhelmina."

"I would but Daniel doesn't like the taste of moth balls." She lifted the ball again and threw the ball in which Claire missed again, clamoring beginning in the Mode dugout.

Wilhelmina looked over and watched as they spoke negatively about Claire, rolling their eyes and crossing their legs as if they didn't care. She watched as they whispered among themselves and laughed at her, disrespecting her presence. Suddenly she dropped her ball and everyone looked, watching as she crossed the field and traveled over to the Mode side.

"Willie, what-" Daniel began but was silence by her solemn finger in his face telling him four simple words that he had become accustom to; Shut the hell up.

She stared down the Mode employees who instantly silenced in her presence. "All of you, disgust me!...I don't care how you feel about that woman but as long as she is running this magazine you will respect her and support her, I don't give a damn whether you want to or not...I can't believe you all just sitting here, most of you in your 20's and you let at 64 year old woman at the bat...I'm going to give you all 2 options...Cheer her on like she's Peyton fucking Manning or take your sorry asses home and don't show up for work on Monday." She looked them all down one last time and exited the dugout, crossing the field once again.

"What was tha-?"

"Shut up!" Wilhelmina silenced Claire too before picking up the ball once again and threw it softly. Claire narrowed her eyes in its direction and struck at it like she never had before. Ultimately she hit it and in shock stood there.

"Mom, run!" Daniel bellowed from the Mode side.

Her eyes widened and she began to run through the bases, picking up speed as best she could. Wilhelmina cut her eyes at the Mode dugout and they instantly got up and began to cheer her on, roaring in praise.

"Safe!" The referee declared as Claire made it to home and Claiborne caught the ball nearly 3 seconds after.

_Well, well it seems that we might be in for more than we bargained for...Robert Sauerberg and no name Townsend just joined us, decked out in Vogue uniforms. _

Wilhelmina looked back and rolled her eyes, paying no attention to the stiff-necks. She smiled contently, seeing Izak yelling his two new favorite words and Daniel cheering for her heartily, a proud grin on his face. No matter what team she played for...He was still her number 1 fan.

After what seemed to be an endless number of people and switch offs of pitchers, Mode and Vogue were tied at 28 and 28.

_Ladies and Ladettes we are down to our last acrylic nail and Mode has one final batter up...Danny Meade...How exactly will this Fashion Week kick off end?_

Daniel smiled as he took the bat and Wilhelmina returned the gesture. She found herself crossing the field before she pitched and locking lips with him shortly, earning a roaring whoop from the crowd. He chuckled as she walked backwards, mouthing words to him. Going back to her spot, she prepared herself, as did he. He was her only concentration...The only thing she saw, her only median until she saw that slick figure lean against the dugout. A sick feeling rumbled in the bottom of her stomach that she tried to ignore. As she released the ball from her hands and it came hurling at Daniel, Rodrigo smiled, blowing a seductive kiss her way. She stiffened quickly, an uncomfortable feeling coming over her. A feeling that sickened her. A feeling that caught her. A feel that turned her. A feeling that distracted her. A feeling that led her to not pay attention when the ball came hurling back her way.

Instead of cheering for Daniel to run, the two dugout teams took to their feet and Daniel immediately dropped his bat, running towards her, and lightning sparking in his feet. Marc joined him, Ariel holding Izak back as he screamed for his mommy. Daniel tapped her cheek softly but to no avail, seeing how she was knocked out cold.

_She fought him off angrily as he pushed himself on top of her, knocking down everything on her desk. He stood between her legs, roughly pressing his lips upon hers. She twisted and turned under his hold, trying to get free but found her body and mind on two different accords. Her body was submitting to his and pulling at his clothes and her mind was wild with oppression, wanting to fight but was rendered powerless under the base of her desire. A desire that was only broken when she heard his voice. Daniel's voice calling hers, seeing another man on top of her and her thoroughly enjoying it._

"Daniel...Daniel..." She mumbled softly, a throbbing bomb echoing on the side of her head. She opened her eyes slightly and found Robert Sauerberg, Claiborne, Ariel, Marc, Amanda, Sheila, Claire and every single Vogue and Mode employee crowded around her.

"Baby, I'm right here..."

_"He calls her baby..." _Suzuki whispered into his mic.

"Are you okay?" He questioned, holding onto her left hand as she still tried to gather her bearings.

"I'm fine..." She attempted to lift her torso from the ground, and would have found it utterly impossible without his hand guiding her up. "I said I'm fine." She looked at the people crowding around her, making her want to shrink into a corner and hide.

She held onto to Daniel as he stood and attempted to stand with him. Sauerberg jumped up and helped her as well, on her right side. Upon standing, the world seemed to shake from left to right almost as if God was giving her the Earthquake that she had asked for. Feeling wobbly, her strength failed her and she tumbled towards him, blinking sporadically.

"The medics are on their way." Townsend assured, a phone pressed to his ear.

"I said I'm fine."

Daniel sighed and bent his knees, undermining hers as he lifted her in his arms, bringing her close to him. She found her head buried in his neck, barely able to lift it as a pain pounded through her temples and he carried her to their car.

**OoO**

Daniel pressed an icepack to her face as she rested against the heard rest, trying to remember what happened. Her last recollection consisted of Rodrigo's face; her stomach becoming weak in disgust and then waking up to see Daniel's face staring back at her.

"Baby I'm so sorry." He apologized for the millionth time, sounding as guilty as they come.

Her hand took to his leg, the upper right quadrant of her face being swollen from impact. "You owe me a major plastic surgery."

"Anything you want..." He pressed the ice to her face a tad harder and she winced, squeezing at his wrist. "I'm sorry..." He sounded so pitiful, feeling as horrible as could be. If he only knew that it wasn't even his fault...

"Wilhelmina..."

She twisted her neck as best she could and they both looked towards Townsend and Sauerberg who were approaching their truck.

"We just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

She didn't feel like speaking, especially since that pound was preventing her from hearing anything anyway. She gave them a weak thumb up and Daniel stepped forward, pulling at his softball pants. "Uhh...She's a little bruised...Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh no, we just wanted to make sure that she will still be attending the Black and White Ball tonight."

"I don't remember inviting you two."

"You didn't...Your mother did...But besides that...I know you're hosting and-"

"Look I don't know...it's only 1 o'clock right now and the ball isn't until 8...hey, if she doesn't go I might not go either so you'll find out when you get there." Getting agitated, he turned around and re-opened the car door.

Wilhelmina smiled weakly, touching a hand to his chest. "Look at you..." She spoke softly. "My big strong ...Hubbbbby."

"I see those pain killers from Amanda are starting to kick in." He joked, turning back around when he heard a familiar voice.

"How is she?" Daniel turned around, seeing Rodrigo.

"Swollen...bruised...Whole 9."

"Well tell her I hope she feels better."

"I will." Daniel turned around but was quickly reversed when Rodrigo spoke again.

"I was wondering if you would like to go to a...football game with me...The Sunday after next..."

"I don't know..." Daniel responded, still skeptical about Rodrigo and how he handled himself.

"Oh come on. It is the Packers vs. the Steelers."

"SERIOUSLY!" Daniel exclaimed childishly before settling back down, composing himself. "I mean...really? Cool."

Rodrigo smiled and patted his shoulder. "Well when you decide, give me a call...Your wife has my number."

"I will do that..." Daniel nodded before re-opening the car door.

"Who was that?" Wilhelmina questioned.

"Oh that-"

"Mommy!" Izak came running, immediately hopping into her side of the car, jumping in and over Daniel. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I had-I ate-Pink Collin bawls and and and...A horn dog and and and a soda and and and- a wot a lollipops."

"Who fed him?" Wilhelmina asked, attempting to get up.

"Don't get yourself upset baby." Daniel pushed her back down gently, giving Ariel the signal to get away while she still could. "Come on bud, let's go home." Daniel picked Izak up and put him in his car seat in the back, strapping him in. He came back around to Willie's side and unstrapped her visor, taking off his cap and putting it on her head; she smiled, thanking him for his thoughtfulness. He kissed her softly, not wanting to cause any more injury. Walking over to the driver's side, he got in the car and got a frontal look of her injury. Guilt filled him once again and he kissed her cheek, starting their engine. "Baby I'm soo sorry."

"Daniel you can call me Willie." She chuckled lightly, refferring to his constant repition of the word _baby._

"I just feel so bad."

"It's not your fault."

"I hit you in the face...with a ball...I might as well have punched you..."

"It was an accident."

"But-"

"Daniel...It's not your fault...And if you really want to make it up to me...Take me home."

He nodded, and covered her hand that was on the mid console, still feeling like two copper pennies. "Whatever you say."

**OoO**

"Daniel I'm not going to stop breathing." Wilhelmina assured as she lay on their bed, Daniel hovering above her, waiting for her to tell him what she needed.

"I know...I just don't want you to need something and than me be in another room..This house has thick walls, what if I don't hear you?"

"Daniel...If we are going to make it to the ball tonight I need to sleep...Your hot breath on my face is not helping."

"I'm sorry...I just...I-"

"You want to help me?"

"Yes."

"Sit up." He did so and she leaned back against him, resting comfortably before sighing in content. A single moment of content that she only wished would last a lifetime. "Now stay like that for the next 4 hours."

**OoO**

Makeup and Hair can do marvelous, miraculous things. For one, conceal a big bruise on the side of her face and used her full bodied hair to tone down in swelling. Had it not been for the cameras everywhere, no one would have ever known that she had been pucked in the face with a giant white ball. She wore a form fitting white strapless dress that split at the thigh, lined with large black ruffled that covered any risqué areas with the same material guarding the plunge of the neckline, dipping down her bust. As stunning as she looked and as handsome as Daniel looked in his tux...the show stealer was found in little Izak who had on his little white tuxedo with coat tails, hair straightened and slicked back. Wilhelmina linked arms with Daniel, feeling the room begin to quiver and her headache return with a vengeance. Daniel held steadfast to her, making his steps larger and quicker so that he could get her seated and away from the blinding flashes of the paparazzi.

After doing so, he found himself amid chaos as the benefit began and Claire found him in the back just as he was about to go on. "Daniel."

"Mom? Why aren't you in the audience?"

"Is Wilhelmina here? Is she okay?"

"She's here...We probably won't stay the whole time, mom why are you concerned about this?"

"I'm not...I just wanted to know...I've never seen someone hit the ground so hard." She said, first with conern yet ending her statement with a soft laugh as she replayed the moment over and over in her head.

"Daddy!" Izak ran up to him.

"How did he get back here?" Daniel exclaimed as the curtains began to draw.

Claire shrugged and Daniel took to the mike, seeing the crowd. "Welcome to Mode's annual Black and White Ball."

The crowd clapped accordingly and Izak stood stagnant on center stage, shocked to see so many people. They cooed over him, a collective amount of _awww _and_ how cute _filling the room from top to bottom.

"Come on bud..." Daniel whispered, outstretching his hand.

Izak ran to him, finding solace in his touch rather than standing in crossfires, nervous and afraid. "Mommy."

"You want mommy?" Daniel asked him into the mike and he nodded, pointing in Wilhelmina's direction.

The audience cooed softly and Marc stood up, outstretching his arms to Izak in which he lifted him from the stage and onto Wilhelmina's lap.

"Alright, I see how it is..." Daniel joked, earning some laughs. "No but seriously...Today not only are we here for our talent in the Publishing industry...Not only are we here to look damn good at doing it but this year's charity is St. Jude's Children's Hospital...An amazing organization committed to saving the life of our next generation. So tonight as each magazine makes their donation, we ask that you dig deep and actually think about the lives that you may touch..." The audience clapped collectively and he continued. "On a similar note, We will also take a moment to remember a guest that is not present tonight...Ana Wintour...We at Mode, wish her the best and are confident in her waking up with a full revoery but in the meantime...while she is in that process...We would also like to congratulate the woman that is doing the job while she cannot...The woman who, I am surprised didn't rip my face off this afternoon for accidentally batting a softball at her face this morning, My wife Wilhelmina Meade."

She blushed lightly, hating when he publically acknowledged her.

"We would also like to recognize the current Editor-In-Chief of Mode Magazine...My mother Claire Meade."

Wilhelmina looked to Mode and they immediately cheered like they had lost their mind, not wanting to endure Willie's wrath.

"Robert Sauerberg, President of Conde Nast, Robbie Myers and Joe Zee, Co-Editors-In-Chiefs at Elle and everyone else in their respective places...now tonight...You are welcome to dance, eat, socilaize and write drunk checks to our charity, Just spell your name right."

He smiled curtly and they laughed as the curtains closed, leaving the evening to begin. Willie and Daniel socialized while Izak was his usual cute self. The end of the night began to lengthen and Wilhelmina found herself in Daniel's arms, his around her waist. Everyone was tired and on the dance floor before they went home. She rested her head on his shoulder and his hand ran circles on her back, occasionally placing a kiss on her neck. Lately...every time he touched her...he did it like it was the last time he would ever see her...When he kissed her...It was as if they would never meet again...He would make love to her like they would never join again...She didn't know why but lately, when she was with him..He gave her all of him...Every part of him...He held nothing back...Only wanting to see her always smiling...always happy...always content. Wilhelmina looked around and saw that Rodrigo was not there...He wasn't there to mess up her moment of content...To interrupt her moment...Her serenity.

She held on tight, feeling herself weaken the longer she stood. His arms linked around her waist, holding steadfast to her body. She flinched; a strong pain hitting her temples that she thought would drop her to the ground. When she found herself still in his arms, she looked at him, silence between them before he spoke.

"As long as you're with me, you'll never have to worry about falling."

**OoO**

_Thank you for the reviews! They are a huge encouragement and I hope to continue to see them =D Review even if it's just your favorite lines or as I have recently scene, fears lol_

_**-NWJ**_


	6. My Smoke Your Suffocation

_Enjoy! =D _

_**-NWJ**_

Wilhelmina awoke to the sound of rattling near her bedside, pill bottles, ice, alcohol, and the whole nine. She looked to Daniel, turning her head in his direction, a weak smile on her face. "Shit!" He exclaimed, pressing a pack of ice to her head. She reached for the mirror and he knocked it from her hand, pushing her back down on the bed. He removed the ice pack, took an ice cloth and doused it with alcohol, putting it on her face. "Wilhelmina did you drink last night?"

She shrugged subconsciously, still trying to sit up and wake herself up at the same time. "Just a glass or two...What's going on?"

"Mommy! Mommy! Mo-AHHHHHHHHHH!" Izak screamed bloody murder before running back in the other direction, completely scared out of his mind with no intention of looking back.

Her eyebrows bungled together on her forehead, wrinkled in confusion. Her neck craned in his direction, her mind begging the same question that she spoke. "Daniel...What is going on?"

"I have been trying to get the swelling down for the last two hours." He answered conspicuously, not really giving an in-depth response.

"What swelling?" Her question prompted him to hand her the discarded mirror and if she could actually move the right side of her face, she would have but that was not an option.

"Willie, just breathe..." He spoke softly, watching as her already immobile face became numb as she got a blurry glimpse of herself.

"I'm trying...I'm trying...WHAT THE HELL!" She finally exploded, looking at Daniel incredulously. "My eyes are swollen shut! I haven't looked like this since I had a duck's fucking swim team injected in my face!"

"Okay, okay babe calm down." He pushed her back to gently, holding the ice to her eye. "Go back to sleep...we just won't go to the Brunch."

"We have to go! I told my staff that no one is exempt from the activities!"

"Willie, you're sick...If your throat closes up over this." He shook his head lightly, trying not to take it there, go to that dark place or imagine the worse before a light bulb when off in in his head. "...What did you eat last night?"

"Baked chicken from the banquet...a Snickers from Izak's party favor bag….."

"Willie!"

"What? The one time I do eat something, you want to scold me?"

"Snickers have peanuts in them!" He peeled back the covers. "Look at your feet! You had an allergic reaction to peanuts..." He yelled in disbelief. "They're hooves!" He pointed to her feet once again.

She squinted, not willing to take the entire blame for her current state. "You hit me...in the face...with a ball..."

"It was an accident!" His hands ran down his face and he huffed, walking to the bathroom and retrieving an Epipen.

"What are you about to do with that?" Wilhelmina questioned as he approached her with the large needle. "Daniel, Daniel wait." He paid her no mind, rolling back the covers once again. His hands traced the lining of her night gown and he leaned down to kiss her softly. As quickly as he did that, she forgot, feeling his hands advance her thigh... "This is dif-AHH SON OF A BITCH!" She exclaimed, his massage turning into a stab when he, without warning, plunged the Epipen into her thigh. He smiled to himself, knowing that he would have had to fight any other way and just how she forgot the situation as soon as their lips touched.

"That should keep your throat from closing and the swelling should go down...Take the Benadryl on your night stand while I go get Izak something to eat..."

Wilhelmina pouted childishly, snatching the folded back sheets to cover her once again, crossing her arms at her chest. "I don't like you."

"I love you too Willie."

**OoO**

Staring aimlessly at the sky, Wilhelmina sat in the car quietly as Daniel waited for her, watching her every move. Izak fidgeted next to him, growing impatient with the antics of his mother and her refusal to comply with her Editorial duties. Watching the time pass by like sand through a glass, he banged on the window and she rolled it down, turning her head to him. "What?"

"Wilhelmina get out of the car."

"I look like I dipped my face in mutation fluid."

His eyes moved from left to right, palms open and up in a stance that he used when stating the obvious. "You ate peanuts."

"The one time I do eat something!" She exclaimed, feeling cursed in her dietary habits. She turned her head in his direction, rolling her eyes. "You hit me….in the face...with a ball." She enunciated the last word and he sighed, still feeling guilty.

"Wilhelmina you're the host, get out of the car."

"I look like Charlie Brown."

Daniel leaned against the car, rubbing his knuckle against the silk of her skin, taking a calmer tone. "You're beautiful."

"Don't lie to me. You're obligated by law to say that to me, no matter how monstrous I look."

"What law?"

"My law!" She spat back, rolling up the car window to shut him out. She refused to walk in the room with shades on looking like a total imbecile. But she had to be seen. She had to make an appearance, a statement.

Daniel sighed and took Izak by the hand, walking him in with his khakis and white button down shirt, practically matching his dad. Claire greeted them at the door and looked behind them, looking for a third wheel. "Where is Wilhelmina?"

"She had an allergic reaction to peanuts...And refuses to get out of the car..."

"It can't be that bad."

"She has swelling from the reaction and the peanut...Her right eye is swollen and every time Izak sees her he runs away screaming... and crying."

Claire chuckled, looking down at the little boy, his arms wrapping around her legs. "Nana! Mommy's a monsta!"

Claire laughed, looking up at Wilhelmina. "And he doesn't even know her past..." Claire quipped taking Izak off of Daniel's hands and leading him to the Mode table with Ariel, Betty, Marc and Amanda.

Rodrigo watched from a distance as Daniel walked off and back stage as everyone else socialized, paying no attention to him as he stowed off into the parking lot. He opened the the driver's seat door and hopped in, closing the door softly. Asleep, Willie didn't even notice as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and pressed his lips to her cheek.

She stirred, mumbling under her breath. "Daniel, you're not getting any in a parking lot..."

"Too bad, it would have been fun."

That thick accent jolted her from her sleep and snatched her eyes open, making her turn to look and see him sitting there, smiling at her. She sneered and rolled her eyes. "Get out of my car."

"What kind of idiot leaves the keys in the ignition?" Rodrigo questioned, turning them to start the car. He pulled out immediately and locked the doors, putting a child lock on Willie's. "Don't even think about getting out...We need to talk."

"Don't make me have to hurt you."

"What with your one eye and swollen feet? You are all talk and no game...You cannot do anything but sit back and let me handle my business...Like usual, only this time...you don't have to lie on your back."

"I would never sleep with you again."

"In a heartbeat...A heartbeat you would let me take you right on this seat but...You're afraid of what your husband will do."

"If my husband knew what you were saying, you wouldn't have a heartbeat."

"Then why haven't you told him? He asked, pulling onto the highway. "If you really feel the way that you say you do...you would have told him a long time ago...You wouldn't meant thinking about me...dreaming about me...fantasizing about what I would do to you if I had your body in my control one last time."

"You're sick."

"And you love it."

"I know you don't have a family..." She looked to him, raising a brow. "By the way, the woman you hired...Horrible actor and the kid...Doesn't even look like you."

"It was short notice..."

"It was trying to make me jealous and trying to convince my husband that he had nothing to worry about..."

"And it worked..."

"Take me back."

"By the way...Your son...he looks a little like me, does he not?" Rodrigo spoke softly, hoping to spark ire and touch a nerve. Wilhelmina looked over to his side, her fists clenching.

"I said...TAKE. ME. BACK."

"Whatever you say..." He swung the car around illegally and Wilhelmina held onto the door, praying to God he wasn't trying to kill her. He sped down the highway and got off the exit, pulling at a right into the parking lot and stopping the car abruptly in the exact same spot before. He hopped out, a devious smirk on his face before closing the door. "Thanks boss."

Wilhelmina took a hand to her chest, breathing a heavy breath that she had inhaled when he popped up next to her. Peering back to ensure her solitude, she jumped out of the car, fixing her hair in the reflection of the mirror. She wore a tight turquoise dress that clung to her body and a neckline that began at her collarbone, aimless zippers coming down the sides. Her hair laid flat, an inward curl on the ends. Shaken, she strutted inside the auditorium. Seeing Daniel, she went towards him, nearly running. Hearing a distinct heel, he turned around slowly, not prepared for the arms that she latched around him. She pulled away shortly, his hands holding steadfast to her waist.

Claire walked past, Izak clutching at her hand. "I'm glad you decided to join us...Would you like a Snicker?"

"Get out of my disproportioned face!" Wilhelmina sneered, her arm on Daniel's shoulder, trying to refocus her reality. Hearing Rodrigo's words, sensing his presence, experiencing his aroma, it confused her...She felt a feeling that she had long resisted and needed to see Daniel's face. She needed to be reminded of what she already had. What she had worked too hard to get.

Claire let go of Izak's hand and he stepped back, not wanting to approach Willie. Before she could lure him towards her, she felt a hand press to her back, nearly knocking her to the floor.

"Wilhelmina, I heard you weren't feeling well...I'm glad you still made it." His lips pressed to her cheek softly and she shuddered discretely, kneading the fabric of her dress between her fingers, nervousness overcoming her.

"Daniel..." Rodrigo smiled and shook Daniel's hand. "What did you think of the apricot Syrup?"

"..Not my cup of tea." Daniel shook his head, hand on Izak's.

"Same here...I much preferred the uhhh...How you say, traditional syrup."

"Maple?"

"Yes...I'm surprised you know...I hear Willie here isn't very fond of the kitchen."

_Did he just call me Willie? _She stiffened at his light brush against her, taking everything he did as an intended action, planned to make her sweat. Daniel chuckled lightly, nodding as Rodrigo did the same.

"Hey little guy..." Rodrigo bent down to Izak's eye level and tussled his hair. Izak whined softly, backing up into Claire in an uncertain fear. "Hey..." He reached a hand towards Izak and he nearly threw a fit, burying his head in Claire's skirt, scratching at her legs to be picked up. She complied quickly, now intrigued as to who the gentleman in front of her really was. Izak nestled his head on her shoulder, his hands clutching at her shirt as if to put up a fight against being put down.

"Wow..." Daniel pressed a warm hand to his back, calming him down.

"Some kids don't like the accent..." Rodrigo stated simply, earning a huff from Wilhelmina, only wanting to hear the sound of his heels turning to leave, not his mouth opening to speak.

"I don't think it's the accent." Rodrigo cut his eyes at Wilhelmina, hearing her mumbled statement. Feeling his temper flare, he lifted his hand in farewell and turned to leave, allowing Wilhelmina to breathe like a normal person rather than with staggered intakes

Now the only awkward tension left was between Wilhelmina and Claire, staring at each other, pursed lips and all. Daniel sighed, taking Izak from Claire. "You two need to squash this."

"She works for the Devil."

"It's pronounced VO-GUE Claire."

"Forget I ever said that...She is the devil."

"Clever Claire, what will be your next move be, send me a pitch fork in the mail box."

"I can give you a tracking number."

"Certainly one longer than your social security number...which is 00-000-0003."

"I don't hear squashing." Daniel sung, walking back past him.

"Of course you don't Wilhelmina hasn't sat down and I know she's due for her annual Brazilian butt lift,"

"Something that you're in desperate need of...Oh wait sorry, you have to have an ass to have it lifted." Wilhelmina rolled her eyes and turned to leave, halted by Marc pulling her in the direction of the door.

"Marc what the-" She began but was once again stopped. He held something in his hands, black and white, with a striped bow on the corner.

He was beaming from ear to ear, holding it out for her. "I wanted to deliver it in person."

She glanced down through her reflective sunglasses that concealed her current state. She slid it from his grasp and whisked her nail under the sticking flap that closed the envelope. With it finally open, she took out the landscape oriented card that was folded in two. "Closets are for clothes, not love. Daniel Joseph Smith and Marc Armani St. James invite you to share with them a celebration of love on Saturday, the twentieth of December two thousand fourteen at four o'clock in the afternoon at the Alger House 45 Downing Street New York, New York." She looked up at him, straining to raise a brow. "Armani?"

"I get to be creative on my wedding day." He smiled heartily, waiting for some more. "Soooo."

"Soooo what?"

"Are you going to RSVP?"

"I'll have to check my calendar." She stated monotonously, tucking the card beneath her arm. Marc's face hit the floor and she pulled him into an embrace, surprising him even the more. "Don't pout...It doesn't suit your face." She pulled away, smiling weakly. "I wouldn't miss your wedding for all the Chanel in the world."

"Willie!" He exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Well half of the Chanel in the world...All of it, and you would have to reschedule."

**OoO**

After schmoozing and snubbing, avoiding diva designers and making their way to good connections, Willie and Daniel finally made it home, allowing the door to close softly as Izak slept on Daniel's shoulder. He left Wilhelmina to her thoughts, taking Izak upstairs. She removed her glasses, touching the side of her face to feel that the swelling had gone down and she could now look at someone without them blinking back in fear...unintentionally.

After showering and changing into a more casual outfit, she found herself staring at her reflection, wondering why she had what she had. Her mind was ever so perplexed by the simple fact that she had everything that she ever secretly wanted. In the public, she swore herself to limiting Nico to be her only child in the world. No one knew about Ariel and EVERYONE knew about Izak...She had a husband despite her "I don't need a man" attitude. She had a job as Editor-In-Chief, sans Claire Meade, despite it being for Vogue. All of these _things _she possessed and her mind still attempted to be unsatisfied. _What did she need? Was it really a need? What was it about Rodrigo sent her into a t_izzy? She thought maybe, it was just her transition. Every 3 years she transitioned, good or bad. Every three years her life shifted, her mind began to change and despite all of her efforts, she had no say it any of it. When she was 18, she met Fey Sommers. 21 became Wilhelmina. 24, second top supermodel in the world, beneath Iman. 27, Hey Nico! 30, Creative Director Promotion. As of late, her transitions consisted of Izak and Daniel but then...This third year...Rodrigo became a part of everything...She felt her old self rising from the ashes when she was with him. It sounds good to some people, thinking that she was rediscovering herself...But this wasn't so.

Wilhelmina Slater wasn't Wilhelmina Slater...The world was pushing her into the box named Wilhelmina only shortly after being released from the box named Wanda. Between all of these transitions, proving, disappointments, achievements...She never breathed. Even her relationship with Daniel was rushed...They had barely been a couple before they got married...Maybe it was the rush...The instantaneousness of things pushed her to long for something else...The old Wilhelmina was clawing to come out, to breathe...Wanda wanted to breath, Willie...Just wanted to breathe.

She stood in her bedroom, palms pressed against the wall as her forehead met as a marking point for where she let her head rest. Hearing a certain voice, she turned around, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Are you okay?"

She nodded wordlessly, tucking a stray hair behind her hair. She stood up straight, continuing to pull herself together, avoiding further questioning. Daniel sighed, his arms crossing his body. "I'm not stupid Wilhelmina."

"What?"

"There is something bothering you..."

"No...no...I'm just tired."

"You've been tired for 2 weeks?"

Wilhelmina opened her mouth to speak and was interrupted by the doorbell. She cursed whoever was behind it, her moment of truth being so close yet so far away. Daniel left the room silently and she sighed, now growing nervous for his imminent arrival.

"Willie!" Daniel shouted from the first floor.

Now she was leaving the room, following in his footsteps to the bottom of the stairs. Before she could even wonder why he had called her, the answer came when she saw her father's face staring back at her. "Wanda."

She stared back emptily, her knuckles white from the death grip she held on the staircase. Anger boiled over within her and she turned her back, advancing the stairs once again.

Daniel turned to him, knowing the reason behind her response. "Look it's obvious that she doesn't want to speak with you..."

"I don't see why, I am her father after all." The Senator stood firmly, his hands held behind his back, still dressed in a lux tux despite the causal visit.

"You're her father and yet you didn't call once when her son was born...or when she got married...or when she had a heart attack...and heart surgery...And got promoted to Editor-In-Chief, exactly what you've been bugging her to do...She did it all...And you didn't even pick up the phone."

"Please, do not speak to me like you are so expertly well versed in the relationship I have with my daughter." Senator Slater dropped his hands and began to speak with them, growing passionate about the topic at hand. "If you think that you know her, you are sadly mistaken...There are sides to her that you have never seen and if you are lucky you won't ever have too..."

"I know my wife..."

"You think you know your wife… "He stared at him, allowing his words to sink in before he spoke again. "You know what- I just came to extend an invitation to my retirement party...But I'll put it in the mailbox...I wouldn't want to upset _your wife _any more than she already is." The Senator turned on his heels and walked towards the door, closing it for himself.

With a huff, Daniel walked up the stairs in search of _his wife, _only to find her pacing their bedroom, taking deep breaths as her hands sat perched on her waist... Hearing his footsteps, she turned her head in his direction before running a hand through her hair, the strand falling instantly back in place.

"God, I feel like I'm about to throw up."

"Don't worry he's gone..."

"What did he want?"

"He just wanted to invite you to his retirement party?"

"Retirement? He's retiring?"

"I guess...Do you want to go?"

"I don't know..." She sat down on the edge of their bed, letting go of a heavy breath that burdened her chest. It seems as if life was on a roll...First Daniel beginning to get suspicious and now her father mysteriously showing up as if they had that kind of relationship. She felt a warm presence and she jumped at the contact, so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't expect his touch.

"Are you okay?" He questioned softly, looking at her shaken manner.

Wilhelmina shrugged, fiddling with her wedding band as she always did when she got uncomfortable. She looked up and traced his stare to her fingers, knowing that he knew what she was doing and exactly why. She dropped her hands by her sides and smiled falsely, changing the topic. "Did you ever organize the attic like I asked?"

"I don't remember you asking..."

"Well I did, did you do it?"

"Willie why are changing the subject?"

"I'm not, I just thought about it." She shrugged innocently and he was not buying it. Looking past her grey-blue eyes, he was met with the reality that she was hiding something...The last time she hid something from him, it nearly killed her...And he swore never to come so close to losing her again.

"Tell me the truth..."

"I am tell-"

"Tell...Me the truth." He spoke softly, folding his arms over himself in expectation of her inevitable cave.

She stood up straight, allowing her stance to broaden her shoulders as if to hold her own. "I am telling you the truth..."

"Willie I know you, you-"

"You don't know me!" She snapped at him, scaring him and her...He looked at her curiously, taken aback by the vigor and anger she responded to him with.

"What?"

"We...We jumped into this relationship...We found a friendship and turned it into love and I was pregnant...and you wanted to be there...but we...never got to know each other..."

A fear struck him and he instantly thought back to mere minutes when the Senator told him what he didn't want to hear...He didn't know her...And there were sides he wouldn't want to. "Wilhelmina what are you trying to say..."

"I'm trying to say...You don't know me!" She exclaimed once again, moving her hands as she spoke. "You know what I tell you...What you see...You know my past...You know who I used to be...But you don't know why...You don't know me Daniel..." She spoke softly, a glistening in her eyes telling him just how serious she was and this wasn't some sick joke.

"Where is this all coming from?"

"I-I just-It all..." What the hell was she talking about...What the hell...was she talking about? She didn't even know...Her mouth was spilling out words...Her thoughts that she swore to the lockbox that was her mind. "I'm going to Vogue." She declared, not willing to kill herself over something so confusing. She walked into the closet and Daniel waited for her, still confused and scared out of his mind. He hadn't expected in a million years for her to randomly project such a strong negativity about the relationship that they shared. She exited shortly wearing a white strapless dress beneath a candy apple red blazer, her eyes avoided his, darting away at all costs and he wasn't ignorant to the fact that she had become stiffer, rigid almost in her movements.

"Wilhelmina..."

She looked up quickly, a genuine fear in her. A fear that stemmed from a thought that she might say something that she would regret. A fear that came out of nowhere...A fear that now rocked her mind, twisting it and clouding it into some pensive merry-go-round. She wasn't a person to snap nor was she a person to lose control of herself...But the feelings that she was beginning to develop for a certain man that wasn't her husband...She was getting into a mess that she wasn't sure she would be able to claw her way out of.

Daniel grabbed her elbow gently, pulling her into his arms. His eyes looked into hers...searching for a sign...a reason...anything to tell him why they were beginning to reach such an impasse in their relationship. She felt his arm wrap around her waist to close the dip that separated them. A sudden guilt rose in the pit of her stomach...The way he touched her...looked at her...loved her...She couldn't take it.

"I have to get out of here..." She shook her head softly, beginning to pull away from him. She couldn't take it.

"Willie."

"No." She couldn't take it."

"Wilhelmina."

She shook her head, running down the stairs with her keys and bag. "No." She couldn't take it.

He ran after her, catching just the hem of her red blazer as she closed the door. He sighed; turning his back on the door before sliding down it, confused...hurt...He couldn't take it.

**OoO**

Wilhelmina worked in her office quietly, now becoming fond of the fact that it was so isolated and away from all of the other offices. After analyzing and going over the same proofs redundantly just so she wouldn't be forced to go back home, she set her pen down and finally took a moment. Her hair fell before her as her forehead rested in her hands, still just taking that moment. She didn't know why she told him that he didn't know her...Maybe it was because she had never told him so many things about herself...Maybe because of one of those negative articles about their relationship...Or maybe the fact that he trusted her...That he was confident that he knew her...Knew her past...Knew her present...When in fact he didn't. The things she had done...The things she was doing...Lusting after another man...The fact that he was so confident in knowing who his wife was...When in fact he didn't...He knew her body...He knew her heart...But did he know her mind? Did he know her soul? Had she let him in enough to be able to do that? Was this the beginning of the end for them?

Before she could even contemplate that regrettable possibility, her attention was stolen just by the person she didn't want to see. She stood, moving from behind her desk so that he no longer had the advantage. He approached her, a cupcake in hand with two candles that sparkled in the night.

"Happy Early Birthday." He spoke lowly and slowly, a menace by look and lover by tone.

"Excuse me?" She asked, biting back at him with the way she spoke.

"Wilhelmina don't play dumb with me...Any man who _knew _you...I mean really knew you...Would know your birthday..." He stepped closer to her and she didn't back up, allowing him to invade her personal space.

Did he just tell her that he knew her? As if she was with someone that didn't and he was the right choice? He was trying to confuse her...Yeah that's it...None of it was true.

"You're obviously...a Libra..." He stepped closer, setting the cupcake down on her desk.

Wilhelmina gripped at the desk, praying to God he wasn't about to do what she knew he wanted to. "How did you..."

"In Roman mythology...Andean...The goddess of Astrea...was a Libra...She was so...beautiful." His hand moved to her once swollen cheek and surprisingly to him and her she didn't stop him. " But that beauty went to waste because she didn't know what she wanted...But...you're a Scorpio at heart...Wilhelmina you're confused...You're a very introverted person...A sensitive person...You're stubborn, You have trouble conceiving...Which is why you were born on the 11th...the number of turmoil...confusion...instability...September...11th...Any man who knows you..." His face inched closer to hers slowly, prolonging the process. "...Would know the reason for you being...Who you are." With those final words and his hand holding steadfast at her jawline as his mouth moved closer to hers. He didn't rush her. He didn't assault her lips or push himself on her...he wanted to make sure that when she told the story...She was as equally guilty as he was. She felt herself being pulled to him like magnetism had found a campground in her body...He didn't push himself. Their lips met tenderly and for a moment all they did was breathe...She felt his mouth open slightly biting at her bottom lip, causing her to release a moan that she didn't know she had. His hands roamed her waist and she clutched at the back of his neck, their lips now moving feverishly against each other without words...Heavy breathing consisted them, their mouths still interlocked. "Happy Birthday Willie."

Wilhelmina, beginning to lose the trance that she had fallen into moved quickly, detaching from him. She backed up slowly, looking at Rodrigo, shaking her head softly. "No..." She pleaded with her memory to tell her that she didn't do what she thought she did. Her hands shook violently by her sides, showing a side that she tried not to expose very often. "No..." That did not just happen...She did not just break a vow...She didn't...She tried to convince herself that it was just a kiss and it wasn't as if they had sex, but when Rodrigo's mouth...The mouth that mere seconds ago were pressed up against hers, ascended into a devious smirk... "No..." She knew that she had fallen into his trap and done...Just what he wanted her to.

Still backing up, the only light in the room now being those damned candles on the cupcake. His face was illuminated, the sultry look in his eyes amplified and the joy he had, put on blast. She reached for her keys that were on her desk and the bag that was next to it, still backing up. Getting her things she bolted running for the door before he could even think to stop her. She couldn't take it.

**OoO**

After searching the house for Daniel, she found him in the attic, doing what she had claimed she told him to do before. Approaching him closer, she looked to see that he was looking at her childhood photos...Studying them almost...Like he was trying to know her through them.

"Hey..."

He turned around slowly and instantly embraced her, pulling her into his arms. She couldn't stay there for too long...Not wanting to feel the guilt that was beginning to rise. She pulled away and took the picture from his grasp, ripping it in half.

"Why did you do that?"

"I hate my childhood photos." She balled up her fists, now holding the small rips of paper in her hands.

"But I wanted to see them...Get to know you..." He said the last part shakily, not wanting to admit that he wasn't familiar with her.

"Not this way..."

"Willie just because...You're different in those pictures-"

"I was fat Daniel, you can say it."

"You were...Hefty..."

"I'm not a trash bag Daniel, I was fat!"

"Okay, okay you were fat!"

"I was not fat!" She swatted him angrily, making him chuckle. Before she even allowed herself a minute of that...to laugh...to enjoy her husband. She remembered that she just betrayed him and it brought a sharp sparkle in her eyes.

"Hey..." He called out softly, seeing the tears begin to fill her eyes. She turned away and he pulled her to him, caressing her back.

Instantly she moved away from him and nodded assuringly. "My birthday is tomorrow." She told him softly.

"What?"

"My birthday..." Her hands moved to her wedding ring and avoided eye contact, looking away. "It's tomorrow..."

Shocked that she told him, Daniel tried to avoid the inevitable gasp before smiling weakly. "Happy Birthday Baby…" He lifted her chin gently and met her lips like tape pulling apart from each other. She held her breath upon the contact. The trace of his lips never left hers and as he kissed her, it was if he was doing it through a sheet of plastic….Kissing her without ever meeting her lips. "Well...then I guess that tomorrow we can spend the day... getting to know each other again." He didn't know what to say, spewing the first thing that came to mind.

She nodded lightly, knowing how sweetly stupid that sounded, how traditionally Daniel and sappy it was. Usually she would have ridiculed him, laughed it off, stared at him as if to be off-put yet she could just smile, only wanting to spill her guts to him and tell him what she had done, her actions but was stopped by the genuine excitement in his eyes.

No they didn't have sex, but they could have….She kissed him….And she knew that she wanted to….She didn't need to sleep with him to feel guilt, especially with that grin on his face. He was smiling at her. The look in his eyes. He was looking at her. The love in his heart. He loved…her.

She couldn't fathom the look he would have had if she had told him right then and there, the expression on his face or the amount of love that would be left. But nevertheless, whether she told him or not...She couldn't take it.

**OoO**

_Reviews make me happy and if they come even faster maybe I will consider upping the update rate higher than 2 per week….it is in your hands lolol! Hope you enjoyed! =D_

_**-NWJ**_

**OoO**


	7. I Can Cry If I Want To

_MUAH HA HA I said that if you review quick I will post more and you reviewed slow so I skipped a day….I was bored so I decided to mess with you all …Sorry lolol I'm not that evil I'm just easily humored lol Thanks to those who did review! Enjoy! =D BTW remember to review and earn a quick update MUAH HA HA_

_**-NWJ**_

She was beneath the covers. Her head lay flat on a pillow. The lids of her eyes stirred close and her breathing was even...But she wasn't asleep. Still as a rock, her body became rigid at any sudden movement, fearing that Daniel smelled a trace of that heavy _La Coda _Cologne that rubbed off on her despite their brief interaction. Her breath ceased with the lowest of whispers, expecting him to say something in his sleep that mentioned her betrayal. Did he know? Did he suspect anything? _It was just a kiss...It wasn't sex...It didn't matter..._ She tried to convince herself but unfortunately she was not easily convinced of something that she had previously stood firm against. If it were Daniel, she would have crucified him and dared him to rise on the third day.

It would have been different had she not responded to his actions. Had she pulled away. Had she not have kissed him back. But she responded, she pulled closer and she locked lips with him like no tomorrow. But after that...something happened...After she had kissed him...Satisfied that unfaithful yearning...the lust began to dissipate...She no longer felt that pitter-patter in heart or churn her stomach. As soon as she had caved and succumbed to the yearn of her body, her mind stopped wanting him and her heart stopped feeling for him...She had been tricked...Her body...Her own self...had tricked her...Tricked her..Maybe if she had held out...It would have went away...slower but eventually...And yet she didn't...she gave in...and now she didn't even feel anything for him anymore...At this point she was repulsed by the thought of him...The fact that he would take it upon himself to ruin a family...A child was involved...Izak...This is where the real guilt came in...Her little baby...She never knew love like that...Never knew such an impulse until she had him...What about him? Where would he fall if this blew out of proportion...She didn't think about that when she felt his lips caress hers. She didn't think about any of it when he pulled her to him and caressed her waist. She didn't think about it when his breath was made wet on her face...She didn't think...And she hated herself for it.

She needed to be reminded of her guilt...She peered over at the clock and saw that it was only 12am. She needed his contact to tell her that he didn't hate her. He didn't know and yet she felt he hated her...She needed to get the feel of Rod's lips off of hers...She needed to get the imprint of his hand on her neck from being there...She needed to become Daniel's again...She needed him to make her his once again.

She lifted her torso from the bed and looked to Daniel, seeing that he was sleep...Slowly maneuvered herself beneath the covers and got on top of him, their chests touching as she laid an array of kisses on his neck, ultimately waking him. His eyes fluttered open and his hands immediately flew to her lower back, holding her to him. Not that he didn't mind being woken up to something so _pleasant _but...After the day they had...It wasn't something that he expected to happen. Feeling him stir beneath her, she sat up, straddling him in the night. Her face sat up inches from his as her hands roamed his chest and his clasped around her waist. He looked in her eyes, noting the longing desire she held for him and the glisten he could have mistaken as a tear. Her mouth lingered against his ears, blowing hot bounds of air as she spoke. "Touch me..." She whispered, beguiling his body to respond. By her shoulders, he moved her so that she would look at him, so that he could see her. Her eyes had darkened through the night and before he could speak, her lips had pressed against his. He felt as if he had never been kissed by her before...It felt as if it were the first time they had ever met their lips mutually. The way her lips graced his and her hands moved to pull at his t-shirt at the same time, feeling a projection against her abdomen. "Touch me..." She spoke against his lips and this time he complied, rolling her over so that he hovered over her and his hands were free to rediscover her...The way his mouth suckled against the nip of her neck...The tender way in which he touched her...caressed her...handled her like she was made of glass...perplexing to look at yet too delicate to touch. He may not have known her like he wanted to...But he knew her body. She couldn't deny that...

**OoO**

As she lay in their bed, now a disheveled mess, 4 hours later. Their hands lay intertwined on the sheets, her body, depleted of energy relaxed against his body, nothing between them. It was unbeknownst to her how many times that he made love to her...but telling by the closeness of their bodies, bare and hot, breath tempered and running on _E._..It was more than once. She felt his lips press against her head and she stiffened lightly, not enough for him to notice but enough for her to be brought back to the reality of the fact that this erased nothing...The only thing it succeeded in doing was erasing his lips from hers...his hands on her...It erased the imprint...but never the memory...It erased the feeling...but never the act...

They had slept for three hours before she felt him move next to her, slipping out beneath the stretch of her back. He moved slowly, replacing his body with a soft pillow as to not wake her. But it made no difference, seeing how the sleep that she did get was light and easy to be woken from. As he walked around the bed, his eyes caught hers to see that they were open and watching him silently.

"Go to sleep Willie."

"Where are you going?"

"Go to sleep."

"Where are you going?"

"You don't listen..." He buckled a clasp on his belt and pulled a long sleeve v neck t shirt over his head, tight and showing off his muscles.

"You think you're so sexy, don't you?"

He smirked, feigning narcissism. "Well you know..." He leaned over the bed and pulled the larger blanket over the covers that shielded her body. "Happy Birthday Willie..."

A shiver racked her body and she clutched at the blankets, subconsciously knowing that as a mental chill, a physical covering would do nothing to suffice. "Where are you going?"

"Didn't I tell you to go to sleep?"

"Didn't you also say that I don't listen?"

**OoO**

Again she awoke to the sounds of click-clacking yet it was far and distant, a sound that she had to search out to find the source of. Looking at the clock, she shrugged, not caring that she was late to work, the benefit of not seeing Rodrigo outweighing the so called penalty of seeing Rob Sauerberg stare. Drudging down the stairs, bare faced and hair scrapped back into a low ponytail, a silk black robe hugging her body. Still exhausted, she complied when she felt a familiar arm wrap around her shoulders, bringing her closer, her head finding his chest. Finally opening her eyes fully, she realized the luggage that stood next to her.

"Whose is this?"

"Finally fessed up, eh?"

Wilhelmina looked around the bend as her sister-in-law leaned against the arch way that framed the entryway to their kitchen. Wilhelmina looked to Daniel, crossing her arms over her chest. "Who let bigfoot into my kitchen?"

"Shut up...you didn't even invite me over when you guys finished the house..." Alexis retorted, reaching into a bag on _Lays _potato chips.

"You were invited to the Housewarming..."

"I'm family..."

"You're also a man...Shall we continue?" Wilhelmina questioned, lifting a brow.

"You're so annoying." Alexis groaned, chuckling through her crunching chews.

Wilhelmina mocked her laugh as she walked towards Alexis. "Ha ha ha ha-give me my damn chips!" she snatched the bag aggressively and walked off with them, knowing that she doesn't even eat them herself. Alexis brushed her hands against each other, cleansing them of salt.

Over time her relationship with Wilhelmina grew into one of love-hate...Kind of...Sometimes they acted like two best friends that had been friends for 20 years, while other times you would think you were watching a WWE backstage segment when listening to just a snippet of their conversation.

"What the hell is going on?"

Daniel ran into the kitchen, sliding in nervously when he only saw the back of her head. She turned around and pounded her fist at his chest, sending him back a few steps. Tyler laughed in the corner, giggling as Wilhelmina stalked towards her husband. "Why didn't you tell me that we had company! I don't care how I look in front of Manzilla but your mother doesn't need another reason for me to rip her eyes out!" Wilhelmina whispered, growing irate.

"It was a surprise..." He responded, holding her shoulders as if to calm her down... His hands moved up and down her shoulders soothingly, giving her a pouting look that she knew he didn't have the strength to resist. "I thought...It would make you happy since...I haven't been able to do that myself lately..." He whispered, eyes low as the room quieted, the rest of their extended family sensing the sensitivity of the situation...

"Can we discuss this later?"

_"Yeah..." _He nodded softly, not meaning to bring it up in front of everyone else.

"So Wilhelmina...I guess we're closer in age then you've been leading on..."

Wilhelmina turned around as Claire sat at the island, picking a grape from a vine on the counter. "Claire...I'm 48...you're near death...I don't see the comparison."

"Hahaahahaha..." Tyler's laughter soon died down when he earned a stare from all of the women in the room, including Amanda.

"You don't get to laugh!" Amanda sneered, pushing him off the stool so that she could sit.

Daniel chuckled, watching his dysfunctional family. "Where's DJ?"

"Upstairs, putting some fresh clothes on Izak.." Alexis responded, picking a grape from the vine. Wilhelmina hissed and slapped her hand. "What did I tell you about eating my damn food..I don't go grocery shopping...You eat any more and Daniel will starve."

Claire rolled her eyes and picked a grape, popping it in her mouth. Alexis looked over, expecting a chastisement from Wilhelmina but was surprised when one failed to come. "Aren't you going to say anything?" Wilhelmina shrugged, taking a grape. "Hell, the woman is an alcoholic, grapes are the closest thing to wine that she can have...leave her be."

"So you two are...good now?" Alexis questions, referring to the rift between Claire and Wilhelmina?"

"No." They both responded simultaneously. Wilhelmina moved her hands to her hips, growing defensive. "She is still _attempting _to run Mode and has not apologized-"

"For what?"

"For not dying when I asked you too!" Wilhelmina exclaimed.

"You have got some nerve...I am working my backside off taking care of Mode while you parlay with Vogue."

"Okay, one, it's ASS not backside...two, you don't what you're talking about when it concerns Mode so I suggest you shut the hole on that dusty urn you call a face and leave it be..."

A silence reigned over them as Claire and Wilhelmina stared each other down, now feeling things that they had tried to ignore. Wilhelmina's peripheral vision showed her Daniel's anxiety, and disappointment that they couldn't put their differences aside for one day.

"You know what, Alexis shut up for the rest of the day...Thank you.." Wilhelmina spoke harshly, making the others chuckle discretely, even Claire.

"And give me my damn grapes.." She snatched the bowl quickly and Claire's hand landed on the counter, her grape expedition thwarted.

"Wilhelmina you just said-"

"I changed my mind!" She stormed away and up the stairs, leaving the rest of them in stitches over her moody attitude.

"What bit her in the ass?" Alexis questioned, leaning back in the chair.

Claire spoke lowly into her glass before gulping down warm cup of coffee. "Cellulite..."

**OoO**

Age...A single digit for some...A double for most and a triple for the blessed. Age...That thing that's hidden by woman and prided by men when they have a younger woman on their arm. That thing that physiologically convinces some that their life is over...That there are things that they can no longer do...No longer accomplish...The game was over...The scoreboard had darkened and it was time to give up the ghost.

She fought off those feelings, trying not to succumb to the gloomiest that was her birthday though it proved difficult when it had become such a pattern over the days. Everyone assumed that her mood stemmed from the loss of a loved one on 9/11 though it wasn't that...It was her birthday...Not as serious...as heart-wrenching...but don't tell her that.

A crisp fine spun cotton tunic with cuffed bracelet sleeves and origami pleated front, clung to her body, playing out over a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, her feet dawning barefoot as she sat in front of her mirror, touching up her makeup before she descended the stairs. Seeing Daniel beside her reflection, she spoke up, taking a mascara brush to her lashes. "What was that in the kitchen?"

"What was what in the kitchen?"

"_It would make you happy since...I haven't been able to do that myself lately."_

"It's true...I mean...Sex is one thing...Us laughing is one thing...You smiling...genuinely...I haven't seen it in a while...You're short tempered-"

"I'm always short-tempered."

"You've been snappy."

"I've always been snappy."

"Ever since the Mode vs. Vogue Game...you've been acting strange."

"I'm acting as-"

"As if you're hiding something-Wilhelmina I'm not stupid I-"

"Hey..." DJ knocked on their door, peeking his head in with closed eyes. "You guys aren't...doing...anything in here are you?

"Stop being silly..." Wilhelmina spoke happily, changing her tone when she saw DJ. He grinned excitedly, hugging her shortly before he found himself being held by the tip of his shirt by her index finger and thumb. "Oh my god, you smell like a dump truck."

The young adult smiled. "I was just running around with Izak."

"Go take a shower..."

"Aunt Wills, I already took one today."

"Take another one, No scratch that-take two! And don't call me Aunt Wills...You know I hate that.."

He chuckled, knowingly antagonizing his aunt by marriage. "Then what am I supposed to call you? Wilhelmina?'

"No, don't you dare...Master will suffice...Go on now...Go shower, your scent is beginning to seep into the carpet..."

"But-"

"Go on.." She urged him on, pushing him lightly, both of them laughing at the situation. Once he left, she turned her attention back to Daniel who wore a weak smile, trying to act happy but was finding it quite hard under the circumstances...

"Wilhelmina..."

"What?"

"You told me that I don't know you and yet when I attempt to talk to you, you won't let me in...It's like you told me to drive around a racetrack but you won't give me the keys to the damn car..."

"There should be a spare somewhere..."

"Wilhelmina I am serious...It's really starting to piss me off."

She looked up at him from her beauty spot and realized that he was standing over her, and he actually looked upset...hurt even.

"I don't know what to do anymore! What do you want from me? What do you want me to do?"

She stayed silent, not knowing the answer herself. She had been making him miserable in a few mere hours without even realizing it. He was trying to make her happy and she had been so wrapped up in herself that she hadn't even realized it. She wanted to tell him Nothing...That she didn't deserve anything from him...She was no longer worthy of the love that he tried to shower with...She wanted to be honest with him...tell him how she felt...What she did...Just what stopped her?

"I..I-I don't know..."

"Daniel did you tell her why we are all here yet?" Alexis' head popped in doorframe, right where DJ had been moments before.

"Uhhh no..." Daniel answered before turning to Wilhelmina. "Uh...The Meade woman are going out on the town tonight and Tyler, DJ and I are going to a game..."

"Out on the town?"

"Yup..." Daniel responded before feeling a vibration in his pocket, the sensation leading to a text message that made him smile. "Willie, I'll be right back..."

He left the room and descended the stairs, going out on the back porch where he found Tyler, shivering from the cold. "What the hell man, why'd you text me when I'm upstairs..."

"I can't go back in that house...bro, Your assistant...is crazy.."

"Amanda?" He asked and Tyler nodded fearfully, enticing a laugh from Daniel. "She's your girlfriend."

"And she's crazy!"

"Well what did you do to piss her off?"

"She's mad because Marc and that doctor guy have been dating for as long as we have and he is engaged and we're not. She thinks that that means that she will never find love because quote unquote _**If your gay best friend gets married before you...Your life is over...OOOOOOVER!**_"

Daniel chuckled, resting his arm on the balcony banister. "Why haven't you proposed? Are you not ready?"

"Yes I'm ready! I'm just...having a little trouble getting the money together for the ring...You know Mandy likes big and expensive..."

"But if it's from the heart..."

"Have you ever gotten Wilhelmina something that is..._from the heart _that didn't have a diamond on it?"

"Point taken...But...I thought you were doing good with the modeling jobs you had this week for Fashion Week."

"I AM! After this week, I'll be set but she doesn't know that and she's driving me up the wall!"

"So is Wilhelmina..."

"Yeah but you hit her in the face with a ball..."

"It was an accident!"

"I still have bruises."

They both jumped back at the sound of her voice, and spun around to face her, fearful of what she heard.

"Tyler, I swear you better propose to Amanda before I kill her...And there will be no one to be proposed to."

"Did you want something Will?"

"Where'd you put the Aspirin?"

"Which one ?"

"Bayer."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing...Just a little chest pain, tell me where it is so I can go get it."

"I'll be right back Tyler..." Daniel stepped back in the room, intent in his eyes.

"Daniel, just tell me where it is and I'll find it..."

"What kind of chest pain?"

"It's not bad..Daniel just-"

"Go lie down on the couch."

"Daniel-"

"I said...Go lie down."

She would have argued, clawed, punched and kicked anyone else who would have dared to take that tone with her but since it was him, she let him. She rarely argued with him when it came to her health, his fear being that she would have another heart attack and that time, not come back to him. Her only annoyance was his over-protectiveness, but all in all, in could be a turn on.

"Hey weirdoes...what's going on?" Alexis greeted.

"You did not just call US...weirdoes..."

"Here..take this." He handed her a glass and two tablets, making sure she took them and it was enough.

"Something wrong?"

"Your brother is just overreacting..." Wilhelmina responded, handing Daniel the glass. Despite their disagreement, he kissed her shortly, his body beginning to long for her. "Sooo...Please tell me what you and Amanda have planned for tonight...so I can know where not to go..."

"Nope...All you need to know is that Ariel will be joining us and Marc is our designated driver..."

"Marc?"

"And Betty is our back-up driver..."

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this."

"Because you already do."

**OoO**

Dressed in a fire red, strapless mini, topped off with a sweetheart neckline. She grabbed her white coat and took to the stairs where the rest of them waited. She scanned each woman, Amanda in her pink mini, black lace adorning one arm while leaving the other bare. Alexis, a blue V-neck, mini as well, not as risqué but with her height, it would do. Ariel, Black tube mini, all of them in mini's despite it being close to freezing. Scanning the line, she came upon a big dissapointment.

"Oh come on!" Wilhelmina pointed to Claire, Daniel behind her. "She's coming too?"

"What did you think I meant when I said Meade women?"

"I thought you meant the LIVING women!"

"Wilhelmina, with you continuously hinting at my death, I might have to take offense."

"Don't even bother, that might exert the little energy you have left."

She held out her arm as Daniel helped her with her coat, smoothing it behind her, Tyler and DJ doing the same for their lady lovelies. Daniel looked over, seeing a hint of pain flash across his mother's face a common mantra for those who were widowed and often felt alone especially when it seemed as if everyone surrounding them had someone.

"Come on Mom." He grabbed her coat from the rack and opened it for her to put it on and she smiled weakly, turning back around and flipping her hair from beneath the collar. She hugged him shortly, her hand touching at the back of his head.

"Thank you son."

"ALRIGHT, LET'S DO THIS BITCH!" They all looked to Wilhelmina who shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with her sudden burst of energy. "I can have fun too...

"ALRIGHT, LET'S DO THIS BITCH!" Amanda echoed before kissing Tyler briefly, exiting the house behind Claire and Alexis.

Wilhelmina turned to Daniel, her hands on his chest as his laid to rest on her upper back, holding her to him before sharing a parting kiss. She smiled to herself, knowing that this little outing was probably for the best, to clear her mind and for once...have some fun.

**OoO**

"Okay, Truth or Dare..." Amanda exclaimed, sipping on a Martini as Betty drove them through the city after they had picked her up and told her that she was driving.

"No..." Wilhelmina protested, sipping on her _Chablis, _watching Claire out of the corner of her eyes, slip into the refrigerator of the limo. They still didn't know why Betty was capable of driving one but all Wilhelmina knew was that no drivers were available so last minute and Betty was their next choice.

"Yes!" Alexis sat on the edge of her seat, sipping a beer.

"No."

"Come one Wilhelmina..."

"Not you two, her!" Wilhelmina snatched the bottle from Claire's grasp, throwing it to Ariel who happily began to chug it down.

"Wilhelmina come on it's my birthday!"

"Claire it's my birthday..."

"It's somebody's birthday! I just want one drink...You all are drinking..."

"Your right.." Wilhelmina looked around and rolled down the window and took Amanda's martini glass, throwing its contents out the window.

"Hey!"

She then proceeded with Alexis's beer, chugging it straight.

"Seriously?"

She took the bottle from Ariel who was practically looking to fight tooth and nail before reading Wilhelmina's stare before she poured its contents onto the street and continued to drink her own, much to their disdain.

"Mom..not cool."

"Did you not hear me...It's my goddamn birthday...I can do whatever the hell I want.."

"You're feeling cursy today..."

"Would you like a piece?" Wilhelmina asked Alexis before they all were stopped in their tracks when they saw the red, blue and white lights flag them down and siren signal to pull them over. Betty pulled over and Claire swatted Wilhelmina and Wilhelmina swatted her back, not going down without a fight.

"What the hell Claire?'

"You just littered Wilhelmina!"

"So what? You act like if we get a ticket, we can't pay for it."

"We? I was minding my own business drinking my beer when it was forcefully tugged from my grasps." Alexis spoke innocently, sparking an idea in Amanda's head.

"Oh my god, Wilhelmina as a part of the game..I dare you to seduce your way out of this ticket."

"What?" Wilhelmina exclaimed as the rest of them urged her on and the police officer moved from Betty's window to hers.

"Excuse me mam, But I happened to witness you pouring a suspicious liquid from your window, presumably an alcoholic beverage-is that correct?"

"Well I-"

"Wait a minute...you're...You're that lady that runs that magazine...Rouge..."

"Vogue.."

"Yeah that...You're a celebrity..." He smirked, looking at his pad before beginning to write. "You must think that you're above the law."

"No I-"

"1200 dollars..." He ripped off the paper and gave it to her.

"That is excessive." Wilhelmina looked to the rest of the girls, all of them giving her the looks of what to do next. And against her better judgment...She complied. "Excuse me, officer." He looked down in the window and Wilhelmina smiled, opening up her coat and shedding it to allow her nothing more than that red mini. "Can I speak to you for a second..." Against his protest, Willie still stood and opened the car door getting out.

"Mam, Keep your hands up so that I can see them at all times."

Wilhelmina leaned forward, her hands in the air yet her cleavage full frontal to give him a good view. "Is this_ ample _enough for you?" She asked, using the play on words to her advantage after tracing his stare to where she needed his eyes to be.

"Chest-I-I mean yes..." He fumbled, enormed with her physical beauty. "Mam I'm going to have to ask you to put your hands on the car..."

Wilhelmina did as she was told, knowing she didn't have to and he was now just taking advantage but she was determined to carry out her task. She stuck out her behind, perching it farther out as he passed by, brushing passed him. "Like this?"

"Yes...do you have any type of Identification ass-I-I mean pass."

"Nope..." Wilhelmina got off the car and approached him, running her finger along the lining of his badge. "But when I finished with you...You'll know who I am..."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina jumped back in the car, immediately taking to her hand sanitizer as they all stared at her, all wondering the same thing. "What?" She questioned.

"We want to know what happened!" Claire exclaimed, the situation peaking her interest as well.

"I just let him hand cuff me, I bent over and the man was like silly putty..."

"That's it?"

"Oh and I gave him some random number out of my phone..." She screwed up her face, trying to remember the 5 letter name she saw as she read it from her phone. "I think it was Betty's..."

They all laughed and Betty turned back shortly, beginning to pull off. "What'd you guys say about me?"

They all responded mutually before howling with laughter. "NOTHING!"

**OoO**

"Wilhelmina I dare you to take this tequila shot...right now." Amanda set it in front of Wilhelmina as they sat in the VIP section, separate from the rest of the club.

"I said TRUTH, Amanda." Wilhelmina responded.

"Well than I'll do it." Claire attempted to reach over Wilhelmina and Wilhelmina swatted at her quickly, handing Ariel the drink to down. Claire pulled back, pointing a finger in Wilhelmina's face. "You really need to stop hitting me."

They all laughed and waited while Amanda contemplated the question she wanted to ask. "Okay Wilhelmina...When was the last time you had sex...Who was it with...And How many times.."

"Oh my God, Mandy, we all know the answer to that question!" Marc spoke up, drinking the rest of Amanda's Martini.

"Well then tell me the rest...How many times...When was it..."

Wilhelmina blushed, burying her head in the pillow behind her before being tugged at by Alexis, the rest of them coxing her to answer. "FINE!" She crossed her legs and leaned back against the pillow, looking up at the ceiling before answering. "Last night...and in the early morning...Daniel of course...And...4 times...maybe 5..." Wilhelmina sighed as if it was nothing and took a sip from her glass in which they all gawked at her in awe. "Don't look at me like that...It's truth or dare, You asked me the damn question and I answered!" They continued to look, shocked by her answer. "Don't be mad because all of you are dry fountains.." She pointed to Amanda.. "You're too angry at your man to even doing anything.. "She pointed to Ariel. "You need to break up with your man already, he annoys me." She pointed to Alexis. "You are a man." She pointed to Claire and sighed, waiving her hand. "Nahh...To easy."

"You know what, on with the game..." Amanda spoke up quickly. "Wilhelmina...Truth or Dare."

"Truth."

"Wilhelmina."

"I don't do dares.."

"Fine, Fine. Fine...What is the most expensive thing that you have ever bought with your own money?" Wilhelmina sighed softly, looking over at Alexis quietly. The room grew still as Alexis's eyes fell to the bottom of her drink and the others began to wonder just what was about to be said. Amanda rose a brow, leaning back as her mouth formed a small little 'o'

"OMG is there so torrid lesbian thing that we don't know about?"

"No Amanda..." Wilhelmina chastened, her voice revealing to the girl how preposterous her suggestion was. "The most expensive thing that I have ever bought...Was Alexis..."

Everyone was quiet except Claire who know was really paying attention, wanting to know just what she was referring to. "What the hell are you talking about Wilhelmina?"

Wilhelmina looked to Alexis, not wanting to reveal anything that she would rather be kept a secret. "Alexis?"

"Just tell her..." Alexis sighed heavily, tucking a curled lock behind her ear.

"Tell me what..."

"Okay Claire, as hard as this is I want you to really focus..." Wilhelmina turned to Claire setting down a glass...She was half drunk, half angry and didn't give a crap any longer...This was bad. "When Alex faked his death...And Bradford CUT HIM OFF...Who do you think paid for all of those EXPENSIVE surgeries? Bradford had emptied out her personal bank accounts and _Hudson's _bank accounts...Alexis...then Alex...Came to me...And asked for help...I complied and paid for the procedures and facilitation stays for a year while she recovered."

"You let her...Fake her own death...Knowing the pain it would cause...You paid for her to...hurt our family." Claire spoke harshly, looking at Wilhelmina as if it were 7 years previous and she was still as evil as they come.

"Mom stop it, It was my decision..." Alexis retorted, not allowing Wilhelmina to take the heat for what she did. "She was my friend..."

"She was trying to hurt you."

"SHE is right here."

Silent, amongst themselves, a bartender approached and set a Cosmo before Wilhelmina. "Uhhhh The gentleman over there says Happy Birthday..."

Wilhelmina followed the finger of the bartender and her heart nearly skipped a beat and flew out of chest. There stood, at the bar...Rodrigo, his suave manner depleted when he blew her a kiss across the room. Wilhelmina got up from her seat, nearly knocking Claire over as she ran from the table and to a place of solace. A place where she could be by herself...Gather her bearings...contemplate her next move...But When she turned around she found that she wasn't by herself and that Alexis had followed her all the way to the restroom, worried about where she had gone.

"I'm sorry...I..."

"I saw him too." Her eyes followed Willie's, following with matching fervor.

"Rod-"

"-rigo...Ambrossi."

"DO you kno-"

"I know you slept with him...And I know that he is working at Vogue beneath you...I also know that Daniel does not know...But I don't know why..."

"It's just too complicated-"

"You still love him-"

"No...I-"

"I have feelings for him?"

"I did...But last night...I...he...we.."

"No..Wilhelmina..." Her voice pleaded with the truth...Pleaded that the truth was not what she was predicting.

"-Kissed...I didn't sleep with him but...I did kiss him back..."

"Did you tell Daniel?"

"Would you tell Daniel?"

Alexis ceased her questioning, pinching at the bridge of her nose as she processed what her sister-in-law had just confided in her. She lifted her head, deciding a final move. "You have to tell him."

"But-"

"Wilhelmina he trusts you..."

She sighed, realizing that this was true. Daniel...trusted her...After everything that went on and after all they went through to gain that trust...if she kept this from him..It might as well have been in vain.

"Damn it..." She cursed under her breath, now regretting going home. "How long are you staying?"

"Actually...I was thinking...I was thinking about moving back to New York?"

"Why, What about DJ...French Mode?"

"We can appoint someone...DJ wants to move to be closer to Daniel and...I'm honestly tired of France...I miss my home.." She shrugged innocently, offering a weak smile.

"Well then at least Daniel will have someone to talk to."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really think he is going to want to talk to me after I tell him?" Alexis squeezed her hand gently, trying to be of help but knowing that it would not be enough. This was the time when they were like best friends.

**OoO**

Returning back to their VIP lounge, Wilhelmina approached slowly, hearing Claire's rant from a mile away. "_And now she's working for Vogue... I don't get it...Maybe this was the plan all along, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it was...Reel Daniel...Get vogue, Destroy Mode...Then steal Mode..."_

_"Mrs. Meade maybe you should take it easy on those drinks." _Ariel warned.

"Yes Claire you should." Wilhelmina stepped forward, taking her place in front of them all.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's my birthday..."Wilhelmina reached down and snatched Claire's drink from her hands, wafting it briefly. "And you're drunk..."

"And You're a bitch...Now that we have stated the obvious-"

"I'm going to go get the bill so that we can leave..." Trying to contain her anger, Wilhelmina made a gesture to leave, halted by a voice that she didn't want to hear.

"So you're going to turn your back on us just like you did Mode?"

"Mom!" Alexis scolded, trying to hush her mother.

Wilhelmina's hands began to clench at her sides, condensed into fists that began to turn her knuckles a pale tan. She tried to be good, tried to remain tamed but...Claire kept going.

"As soon as something opened up you made sure to sink your fangs into it-"

"Claire shut up before I do something that Daniel will never forgive me for..." Her voice took a menacing tone, the insinuation that she had never changed and was just using Daniel, combined with the fact that she had betrayed him building and riling emotion.

"Like work for the enemy?"

"I did it for him!" She whispered harshly as to not draw attention to him. She now faced Claire, net down to her level. "He was the one driving the car that put Ana Wintour in a coma...Had I not taken the job, he would be in jail right now...But I guess you didn't know that...You know what, I'm going home..." Wilhelmina reached over Claire, snatching up her coat and purse. "I'll be in the car...No never mind that I'll just catch a cab."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina stormed through the house, slamming the door behind her. Finding that it was still intact after what she was sure, was a wild night for Tyler, Daniel and DJ, she sighed a breath of relief. Then she remembered what she had to do...And that breath was soon caught up again, making for a lump in her throat. She undid her coat, standing in the foyer before handing it on the rack.

Hearing the commotion, Daniel came barreling down the stairs, all smiles. He pulled her into a hug, his mouth finding the lobe of her ear. "I missed you..."

"I was only gone for a few hours..."

"I know but...It's your birthday..."

"Yup...Happy Birthday to me..." She spoke flatly, seemingly annoyed.

"Something wrong?"

"Uhh...Nope..." She lied, shaking her head. He looked at her, noticing her lie and became relentless to find out. "You know what...There is something wrong...Daniel I need to talk to you..."

"Good...I wanted to talk to you too..."

"Wait...let me...say this..." She looked up at the staircase, seeing Izak's bedroom door, peeking open. She took him by the hand, leading him to the dining room where she sat down silently, hoping he would do the same.

"Willie..."

"I love you...you know this, right?" She asked him, their hands still connected, laying on the dining room table top. He nodded softly and her head dipped low, having to force herself to look him in the eye... "Daniel...7 years ago I-"

"Wilhelmina!" Alexis bellowed, coming through the door with Claire's arm slung around her shoulder.

She fell silent, seeing them in the position that they were, the serious that hovered and the look on their faces.

"...She's drunk...I didn't want to leave her alone..."

"You guys let her drink?" He rose from the table, leaving Wilhelmina alone. She sighed, wanting to bang Alexis's head against the wall.

"You tried to kill Ana Wintour...Like Mother like son.." Claire slurred, pointing her finger in what she thought was Daniel's direction but was really the wall.

"I'll put her in the guest bed room." Alexis advanced up the stairs, looking to Wilhelmina, mouthing _'Sorry'._

Wilhelmina glanced back, rolling her eyes. '_Just get up the damn stairs_'.

Daniel turned around, finding her in the exact same spot that he had found her. "So where were we?"

"Actually...: She rose slowly. "We can do this tomorrow...I'm kind of tired..."

He nodded, not allowing her to pass him without embracing her. Wilhelmina's arms fold a solace around his neck, her partially drunken body pressed heavily against him as she leaned on him for support in lieu of her lack of balance. He kissed her cheek softly, holding her to him, reflecting on the fact that he loved her...That she loved him...That they had a relationship. Though he was unaware of how they got to such a rocky spot in their relationship...It didn't stop the fact that she was his. No matter what was to happen...She was his...As he lifted her into his arms...She was his...

She felt a well of water begin to form in her eyes and she shut them tightly, not allowing the guilt to rise. She refused to succumb, She refused to be defeated, She refused to face it...She wanted to punch herself in her face...Punish herself...Man after Man,...Story after Story...She was convinced that she had found one with a happy ending...Until now...She could no longer see their future...No longer see their happy ending...All she saw was his pained face staring back at her...And the deceit that she left him in..

That night she was beneath the covers. Her head lay flat on a pillow. The lids of her eyes stirred close and her breathing was even...But she wasn't asleep. Still as a rock, her body became rigid at any sudden movement, fearing that Daniel wanted to continue their conversation, probing her for more. Her breath ceased with the lowest of whispers, expecting him to say something in his sleep that mentioned her awkward behavior. Did he know? Did he suspect anything? _It was just a kiss...It wasn't sex...It didn't matter..._ She tried to convince herself but unfortunately she was not easily convinced of something that she had previously stood firm against. If it were Daniel, she would have crucified him and dared him to rise on the third day...But it was her...She had messed up this time...And unlike her...He wouldn't crucify her...He would just stare...let the anger rile in him and walk off...punching a wall...The pain in his eyes...being much more than any pain that she could physically inflict

It would have been different had she not responded to his actions. Had she pulled away. Had she not have kissed him back. But she responded, she pulled closer and she locked lips with him like no tomorrow.

She felt his hand reach over and squeeze hers gently, his words slurred in his sleep. "Happy Birthday Willie." Her body managed to choke down the guilty sob that rose to her throat, attempting to become howl. This man loved her...He really loved her...He trusted her...She violated his trust...The trust that she fought, oh so very hard for.

And she now had to live with that.

**OoO**


	8. Cracked Foundation Pt 1 of 2

Daniel spun around quickly; tossing a pack of Oreos into the cart as Alexis sped passed him, picking up another bag of Lays that she would be able to eat. Smaller children watched them in awe, wanting to know where their parents were as they sped through the grocery store aisles, picking up everything that had a pound of sugar in it.

"Don't forget, we have to stop at the pharmacy..." Daniel reminded Alexis, hitching onto the side of the shopping cart as they rode down the aisle childishly. Though he had grown up, matured, garnered a family...He still had his moments...especially when his sister came into town.

"For what?" Alexis questioned, sneaking an Oreo from the packet.

"Willie...When she woke up this morning, her throat was bothering her..."

"Does she have a cold?"

"I don't know...You guys were the ones that were out until 2 am for her birthday...It was cold...She didn't have a scarf..."

"Hmmm You sound like an adult yet you eat like a 2 year old..." She snatched the gummy worm from his grasps, eating it for her own benefit.

"Hypocrite...Why are you here anyway?"

"Your wife didn't trust you to go grocery shopping alone..."

"And she didn't trust you either..." He turned around, seeing Betty holding a stack of fruits and vegetables in her hands, tied up in bags.

"Did you guys get the rest of the stuff on Wilhelmina's list?"

Daniel looked in the cart, seeing Cinnamon Rolls, Honey Buns, Lays, Cheetos, Doritos, Popcorn, Cheeze-its, Oreos...Oreos...More Oreos...And a pack of gum.

"Yup, just about."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina held a hand to her throat, feeling it worsen as the minutes passed and the cold spread. Wrapped in a scarf, she checked her watch to see that the time had come for her to make an appearance. Gathering the papers on her desk to make it the least presentable, she was disturbed by a knock on her office door. Her nerves made her jump, expecting _him _but soon found by the corner of her eye that it was just Claiborne.

"I brought you some tea...Maybe it will soothe your throat..." Claiborne set it on her desk gently, humbly stepping back. After a chastisement from the infamous Wilhelmina Slater she had learned to stay in the place of the little people and to respect those whose outfit alone costs more than your entire mortgage.

"Thank-" She cleared her throat, feeling it crack upon the words that she attempted to speak. "Thank you.."

"Do you want me to bring your things downstairs?"

"That would be great...Thank you..." Her voice, now a rasp spoke out as she attempted to bring forth her usual voice of strength. "Ummm Claiborne, before you go..." Wilhelmina whispered, now choosing not to strain her voice. The young girl looked up, Wilhelmina's purse on her arm.

"Mam?"

"Do you know if Mr. Ambrossi will be showing up today?"

"Uh...No, he called in sick...Something must be going around..." She answered, then being released by the nod of her bosses head.

"Thank you Claiborne."

"No problem Mrs. Meade...Speaking of such, your husband should be here in a matter of minutes..."

"Thank you Claiborne...Claiborne?"

Claiborne turned around, hearing her name beckoned. "Mam?"

"Do you...like your name?"

"I...I deal with it..."

"Do you have a nickname?"

"...Clay..."

"Did Ms. Wintour call you Clay?"

"Uhh...No...She barely knew my name...To her I was Chelsea...Samantha..Shauna...sometimes even Chester..."

"Do you mind if I call you Clay? I am beginning to grow tired of saying your entire name over and over again..."

"...Sure..."

"Good...I was only asking to be polite...I would have called you it regardless." Claiborne looked around, feeling as surreal as they come in the awkward moment that they were sharing. Wilhelmina looked up, seeing that she was still standing there. "You're dismissed...Clay."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina sat in the front row, surrounded by pretentious wannabe's and stuck up snobs. At usual she would enjoy it but at this point, with the soreness of her throat and pounding of her head from the lights flashing back and forth over the runway, the enjoyment period had since long passed. She smiled faintly at the passersby, greeting them just before the show started. As the first model donned the catwalk, she felt a presence greet her back, moving in circles before a pair of lips pressed against her cheek shortly. He sat back, watching the fashion show, his hands running circles around her back as to soothe her, knowing that she was sick.

She honestly didn't want to be there. She would have left had she not missed work the previous day. But she did...and she was stuck there...miserable...and sick. Making the best of it, she rested her head against his shoulder and he sat up, allowing himself to be a support system for her. He led the back of his hand to her forehead and retracted quickly, feeling the heat rise in his fingertips.

"Will..." He called out, drawing her attention to him as she tore her eyes away from the fashion that strutted up and down the walk.

"What?" She lifted her head, feeling the altitude change in her head and ultimately swell her membranes, congesting her nose.

"I need to take you home..."

"No...No...I'm not that sick...I just have a sore throat..." She shook her head in denial, crossing her legs at the feet before feeling Claiborne take a seat beside her, extending another cup of that damned tea. "Thank you..." She took a sip, having it partially restore her voice... "See?...I'm fine..." With a bit of strength in her voice, she responded, sparking his eyes to roll, having not been fooled.

"I like that..." Daniel pointed at the runway..Wilhelmina looked up, seeing the garment before swatting Daniel's chest. "Oh...For you...I like it for you...

At this point, they were showing the Fall Freya Collection, A lingerie desire. The model donned a garment of shadowy menswear-inspired pinstripes with alluring contrast to a molded-cup bra with a daring plunging neckline.

"Yeah okay..."

After watching endless models walk up and down the runway, the show had concluded and the foyer was flooded with dastardly divas and curious designers. After handing off her cup to Claiborne, the new Vogue Editor-In-Chief was surrounded by these divas and designers, wanting the dish on Ana, Daniel, Rodrigo and more.

_How is Ana doing?_

_What are you going to do about those nasty rumors (That I spread?) about you sabotaging Ana's car?_

_Are you and Daniel splitting?_

_Is it true that you and Claire Meade nearly killed each other at lunch, throwing knives and forks?_

_How closely do you work with Mr. Ambrossi?_

Growing weary of answering questions, inane and making no sense, Daniel pulled her away from the crowd, seeing her fingers claw at the fabric of her dress only wanting to claw someone's' fake lashes out.

"Sorry...Have to get her home..."

"I told you that I'm not going home..."

"Willie..."

"Go..."

"Willie..."

"Daniel..."

"Willie..."

"Go!"

**OoO**

She soldiered on through the day, doing what needed to be done. She went to lunch with Carmen Marc Valvo, met with Marc Jacob and drunk that god-awful tea. She changed the layout for Ana's issue, spoke with Robert Sauerberg, watching him squirm after turning the tables on him and serving a stare that he tried to give her after finding out that she had missed a day. After a long day of scaring and towering, getting worse as the day on, she called a driver, allowing him to drive the car that she drove to Vogue, taking her home.

Sitting in the front of her house, her driver peered at her mid console mirror, stealing a glance at her. "Do you need help back there, Mrs. Meade?"

_Hell yes, I can barely move! _She shook her head softly. "No. Tony, Thank you." Opening the car door a wind blew past her, seemingly sweeping past a grab the wind from her body as well before leaving. She coughed heavily into the crook of her arm, still attempting to stand before finding herself, after all of that exerted strength, in the same spot.

Giving up, she pulled out her Blackberry slowly and scrolled through her contacts that she soon realized that Claiborne had updated. She looked for his name, Marc having put him under the name _Pasty Face, _Ariel having named him _Danny Boy, _And Claiborne going with _Mr. Meade. _And what Wilhelmina didn't get was the fact that...IT was her phone...She didn't call him Mr. Meade...And though she'll never get the logic of assistants, she was at least able to find his number and dial it.

Inside, Daniel and Alexis _attempted _to cook a meal before Wilhelmina arrived home. Daniel, having burned everything he touched and Alexis, under cooking everything; They were pretty close to calling a restaurant.

"Eat!" Izak exclaimed, banging on his high chair demandingly.

"I'm glad to see he inherited your appetite." Alexis commented, knowing that Wilhelmina barely ate in comparison.

"Do-" Before he could utter a word, his phone was ringing excitedly in his phone blasting Bruno Mars'_ Grenade._

"You are not serious?"

"It's an inside joke!" He defended, not getting anywhere seeing how she was still unimpressed. "It's between us-"

"Just answer the phone."

"Fine...Hello?...No I'm not angry...I sound like that because my sister is being an ass...Ouch!...She just slapped me in the back of my head...Are you okay?...How long have you sitting out there?" He snatched off his apron, casting it out in Alexis's direction before storming outside, leaving a curiosity behind him in Alexis' lap.

Leaving the house, he stuffed his phone into his pocket and opened the car door, her eyes looking him up and down. "Are you wearing skinny jeans?" Her voice came as a nasal rasp, checking him out before he had a chance to say anything.

He looked down, around and back at her. "...Straight...leg..."

She looked back at them and motioned for him to turn around, which he did. "Skinny Jeans..."

"No I'm serious, they're straight leg..."

"Daniel, Marc wears straight leg as well..."

"They're boot cut..."

"They don't have a flare...Daniel you can't lie to the Editor-In-Chief of a fashion magazine about the clothes you wear..."

He laughed, finding this as one of the attributes of why he loved her so. "What's wrong?"

"You know how I hate it when you pick me up?"

"Yes...I almost lost an eye once..."

"...Pick me up..."

"What?"

"Just do it..."

"Are you that..." He touched his hand to her head, feeling it even warmer than before. "...sick...Willie you feel like a sauna..."

"Well I'm freezing and I have been sitting here in the cold for 10 minutes..."

"C'mere..." He reached down, her arm wrapping around his neck as he lifted her from the car, closing the door behind him. She rested her head against his chest only feeling the beat of his heart against hers and hearing the steps that he carefully took as he stepped into the house.

Advancing the stairs, he looked to Alexis' raised brow, motioning at her to cut the sarcasm for a moment. He took her to their bedroom, setting her down on the bed. He moved to her feet, removing the ridiculously high boots that donned them as she attempted to remove her coat, finding even that to be a strenuous activity.

Sniffling, she soon found her head resting on his abdomen, his hands reaching behind her to take over what she couldn't do. "I'm not sick you know...It's just...my throat..."

"Uh huh..." He answered as she laid back onto the bed, only wanting to see darkness that was provided by the close of her eyelids. He fumbled around in the bathroom, coming back with a random purple bottle, pouring a cap full for her to take. "Drink this."

She looked at him, squinting carefully, yet being too tired to decipher the strange liquid. "What is it?"

"...Wine..." He lied, coaxing her to drink.

She looked at him carefully, slowly taking hold of the cap, downing it quickly. Her face soon screwed up angrily, whacking him on the arm with a fierce fervor. "Lie!"

"You had to take it..."

"I don't like you.

"You'll be having more in 4 hours."

"...You-" He stuck a thermometer in her mouth, stopping her words and ceasing her rant. "Hm Mhpm Hmph Hmmmmm!" She mumbled incoherently as he held onto he jaw, making sure her mouth was closed.

After 30 seconds he removed the thermometer, looking at it closely. "What the hell..."

"What?"

"It says that your temperature is 39.4 degrees..."

"That's Celsius dumbass..." She snatched the thermometer and flipped it, reading it for herself. "It's 103..."

"No need to call names..." He spoke lowly, a chuckle on his lips as she grew agitated with the smallest thing. He looked at the thermometer for himself and sighed, flipping it discretely and inciting a sigh from her, followed by a howling cough that pained her throat and made her shut her eyes. "103...Willie that's not good..."

"Daniel I'm fine..."

"Willie, You need to see a doctor..."

"No I don't, Now where is Izak?"

"You can't touch Izak Willie, you're sick...You're going to get him sick."

"I'm not sick..."

"Wilhelmina of all the things to be in denial about, you choose a blatant sickness?

"No I choose an exaggeration of sorts that you have conjured up in your head...I'm not sick..."

"You're the most stubborn person...In the world...Seriously Willie."

"I'm serious too Daniel I'm not sick..."

"Your temperature is 103...That is 2 degrees from death..."

"Well aren't you full of good news?" She spat sarcastically, moving her hands to the buttons of her blouse that was neatly tucked into her high waited, snake skin pencil skirt.

"You need to go to sleep..." He suggested, going to the closet and reaching in for her Satin black robe..."Get some rest and...take some more of that medication...in the-" He looked back only to see that she was asleep, her hands on her chest seeing how she was in the process of un-doing her buttons. HE chuckled, casting the robe to the side of the bed, finishing the job, wrapping her in the robe when he was done...Though her body didn't go unnoticed..The perfection...The attraction...The curves...The fact that the peaceful look on her face seemed to add to it all...For him...It didn't go unnoticed.

Peeling back the sheets, he put her into bed, tucking her beneath them before picking up her phone and Dialing a number that he knew she crucify him for doing so.

After hanging up and getting confirmation, he jogged downstairs, seeing Alexis and Izak in the same spot as he left them. "Can't you two get anything done?"

Before she could reply, his phone was ringing and he picked up, expecting it to be the person he had just hung up with. "Hello?"

_"Hey...Daniel? This is Rodrigo...Rodrigo Ambrossi..."_

"Oh, hey! I have been meaning to call you and thank you for hanging out with us the other day...You're a crazy drunk you know..."

_"Oh Hahahahaha...Actually I just...I just wanted to let you know that I am going to have to cancel going to the game with you..."_

"Oh?"

_"I seem to have come down with something...Strep throat...I think this is what you call it..."_

"Oh, sounds bad.."

_"It is...I am having my ...tonsils removed on the day of our how you say...scheduled game..."_

"Oh well no problem, we can always do that another time..."

_"Thank you for understanding..."_

"Oh...No problem." He hung up quickly, stuffing his phone back into his pocket as if it were nothing.

"Who was that?" Alexis inquired, taking off her apron as Izak reached for her.

"Rodrigo Ambrossi...Look Alexis I know what he did to you..."

"You still talk to him?" She acted surprised, as if she couldn't fathom him even forming a relationship with such scum.

"Yeah, Why wouldn't I..."

"Well he practically made out with your wife..." Her words fell dead in her throat when she slowly but surely saw the light leave his eyes, darkening with intensity...

"What did you just say?" His tone came angry, bitter, muscles clenching as he tried to make what she said a lie, a story...A nightmare.

"I...I wasn't supposed to say anything...It just slipped out..."

Daniel nodded as if he understood before having the phone he held fly across the room, smashing itself against the concrete wall of the living room. His breath came sporadic, it came quickly, it came angry...All he could feel in his hands, were the neck of a man that he now swore to rue the day of his birth...Rue the day of his revealed intentions for his wife...Rue the day he intentionally broke apart a marriage.

"Daniel I'm so s-" She was cut off by the sounds of keys jingling along the door and Marc appearing in the doorframe, Dr. Smith behind him.

"We came as soon as we could..."

"We were down the street...At a restaurant...Eating...Going on with OUR OWN LIVES" Dr. Smith looked at Daniel, narrowing his eyes as if to say that they had been disturbed.

"But-" Marc stopped him, smiling at Daniel's angry mug. "We wanted to make sure that she was okay..."

"Where is she?"

"Bedroom..."

"Bedroom?"

"Bedroom..."

"Have I ever been in your house, I don't know where your damn bedroom is..."

"Come on Daniel..." Marc motioned towards Dr. Smith, seeing both Daniels coming. "Wait no that Daniel.." He pointed to Dr. Smith. "Well That Daniel can some to though because it is his wife..

Daniel nodded, marching up the stairs behind him, trying to keep his cool. "Yup...My wife."

**OoO**

Retracting with his flashlight, Dr. Smith stuck it back in his breast pocket after completing his oral examination on a sleeping Willie. "It's Strep throat..."

Daniel nodded, standing off to the side. "How does someone get it?"

"Uhhhh close...contact with an infected person...Using the same cup...kissing...You don't have it do you?"

"No...I'm fine...Or at least I think I am.." Daniel answered, his answer an allegorical underplay.

"It's not uncommon for someone to catch it from someone and then it skipping over their spouse...She'll need to stay home for about...the next 24 hours...Take her temperature every two hours...She needs to take her antibiotics as directed on the bottle and...as you know drink plenty of fluids...

"Is that it?"

"Well what do you want me to do, Jump through a hoop and plunge a needle into her arm?"

"No, you're fine." He was so dead, his voice monotonous as he rolled the covers back up to her, seeing her shiver in her sleep from the cold she felt. Touching a hand to her forehead, he pulled back guessing that it had gone back just a smidge. "Thanks for coming..."

"No problem..." Marc responded.

"Yes problem, WE had reservations and I had to cancel it because SOMEONE had a cough and a tickle in their throat..."

"Let's go.."

Marc escorted his fiancée back down the stairs, leaving promptly before he made any more snide comments about the evening. Daniel shut the door behind them, turning to Alexis who stood before him, twisting at the apron still in her hands.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine...She has Rodrigo Ambrossi's strep throat...That's why she's sick..."

"She told you that..."

"No...but I'm not stupid...He has it...Only it's more advanced...And now she has it and she never drinks off of ANYBODY...How else could she have gotten it-"

"There are plenty of-"

"Alexis don't...You already hid this from me, don't lie to me."

"I wasn't hiding it from you, it wasn't for me to tell you...It was for her to tell you and she was going to last night but I came in the room and-"

"I know when she kissed him..." He blurted out, taking to the stairs. A revelation soon came to him and it all clicked, making sense...someone how in his head.

"What? How?"

"I think you know enough already."

**OoO**

Daniel sat on the edge of their bed, dabbing a cold wet cloth to her forehead hoping that it would momentarily decrease the heat and eventually bring the fever down. HE tried his best not to get upset, trying not to get angry..He didn't even know the story...How it happened...Why it happened...All he knew was that...Another man...Had his nasty lips on his wife...Now she was his...He would kill for her...Because she was his...But it she was cheating on him...HE didn't know whose she was anymore but surely she wasn't the woman he came to know...Came to love...Came to cherish...adore...do anything for.

"Hmmm." She mumbled in her sleep, beginning to wake up from his touch. He stopped dabbing, clutching at the towel before sticking the thermometer in her mouth. She smiled weakly, seeing the temperature from a far. "38.3?"

"101..." He replied monotonously, trying to play along but he just couldn't do it. He thought about waiting...Waiting for her to tell him the truth...Be honest with him...but he couldn't do it...He couldn't lie to her...He could act fake with her...He didn't know to love a person flakily...He just didn't know.

She looked at him silently, still exhausted and congested. She noted as his head drug low on his neck. His expressions were gone, his eyes were dark and his smile...non-existent. "Are you okay?"

HE looked down, determined not to answer the question. He peered at her face, seeing the genuine concern and suddenly he got angry. Angry that she had to ask why he was upset...If he was upset...He thought she should know, after all it was her fault...She was the cause...

"You let that man smile in my face...We went out to eat...Played games...Watched sports...You let me befriend the man that had violate what we worked so...hard...to get?"

"Wha-What are you talking about?" She sat up in bed, pushing herself up as she tried to brace herself for what was coming next.

"Willie, please don't insult my intelligence by trying to make me the crazy one...Tell me what happened the night before your birthday..."

The breath caught in her throat, ceasing all movement as he looked earnestly in her direction in expectation of expectation. She didn't know what to expect and she expected that exactly. She looked into his eyes, seeing the hurt...the anger...the moistened nature and knew that he knew...What could she tell him...that it was nothing...Then why did she hide it? That she didn't feel anything for him anymore. Well then does that mean that she loved him before? That they only had a past, no future. Than why didn't she say anything about it?

She could do nothing...Nothing but stare back at him silently, both of the waiting for the other to reply...

_To be Continued..._

**OoO**


	9. Chipped Roof Pt 2 of 2

He took a deep breath, watching her eyes turn into empty bowls of blue, swirling around in search of an answer. The cogs in her head began spinning continuously in an attempt to justify her actions, sugarcoat that night, make it seem less than what it was...Make it less than adultery...Make it less than cheating...less than betrayal...But she didn't know how...

When she had committed that act she was in the mind set of her old self, doing just what she wanted to do without valuing the indistinct consequences that came with it. She was so used to betrayal...cheating...lying...stealing...Doing whatever she had to do to survive that at that moment, she had conjured up a justification but at this point...She was in her present mind and could no longer find it suitable...It didn't make sense...She had grown out of that state of mind...

She was confused, lost, bound...Wilhelmina Slater needed to find ...Wilhelmina Slater...She was too many people...He had told her that before...There was Wanda, Wilhelmina and Willie...No person can be 3 people...She had dusted off Wilhelmina to head start Vogue and now she didn't know how to put her away...She opened a can of worms that she no longer knew how to close...Started something that she could no longer see the end of...It was like dejahvu..Going back to her tryst with Connor...When Wilhelmina committed something...That Willie had to pay for...

His eyes never left hers, watching them intently. He wanted answers...He wanted her to tell him that he kissed her and she didn't tell him for the sake of Vogue. He wanted her to tell him that she had gotten drunk and didn't mean it. He wanted her to tell him that Alexis was lying, even if it was a lie in itself, he just didn't want her to tell him...That it wasn't a mistake...not a lie...That she had kissed another man...regrets it now yet enjoyed it then...Hid it from him for her own personal gain...But by the silence between them and the time it sat there...waiting to be broken...He soon answered his own question.

His eyes broke from hers and roamed the sickly face that looked back at him. Her nose was red, blue eyes seemingly purple from the red strains that invaded the white noise of her pupils. She looked weak, and you could literally see the pounding of her temple through the side of her head...He made a decision...He didn't want to talk about it then...When they discussed their situation he didn't want her to be sick...He didn't want to feel for her...Want to hold her...He wanted answers...He knew that if he had it out with her he would end up going soft...Seeing her state and not wanting her to over-exert herself...HE didn't want that...He didn't want her to have an advantage...He wanted to get her raw...He didn't want to hurt her but slowly...He felt himself hardening his heart...in expectation of the worse...He had to harden his heart...It was necessary if he really wanted to get what he wanted...Get the truth...the ironically un-adulterated truth.

"You know what Willie...Don't answer that..." He shook his head, rising from the bed. His hands moved towards the edge of the comforters and pulled them snug up to her chest, dabbing her forehead once more with the ice cold cloth. "You need your rest..." He smiled weakly. "You need to be well rested for tomorrow." He walked away leaving her confused, caught off guard and downright afraid. He stopped at the doorway, holding back his emotions for the next day...Assuring himself that she would need rest to deal with the day that was to come...

**OoO**

Alexis came down the stairs, taking notice of the eerie quiet that filled it. Wilhelmina wasn't cursing, Daniel wasn't laughing and Izak wasn't asking for food...Something was wrong...And she knew just what it was... She watched from a distance as Daniel took a seat at the breakfast nook with Izak, feeding him simultaneously with himself.

"Where's Wilhelmina?" She asked, fearing that she had taken to Vogue in the dead of the night, dodging their imminent confrontation.

"She's in bed..."

"It's 11 am..."

"She's avoiding me...She has been up for 3 hours.."

"How do you know?"

"When she's nervous she gets up at 8...Big clientele...Important meetings...Cheating..."

"Daniel...Maybe you're over-reacting..I mean, you haven't even heard her side of the story..."

"I'm not sure that I want to...All I know is my wife...kissed another man...and hid it from me..."

"Oh my God..." Alexis rolled her eyes, leaning back on the booth with an inevitable smile.

"What?"

"You are just like dad..."

"I am nothing like him Alexis..."

"Yes you are...Everything is black and white with you...There are never gray areas..."

"There are no gray areas in this situation, Alexis.."

"Daniel-"

"Do you know how I feel!" He blurted out in a whisper, vicious yet low. "I would have gotten over it had she told me...Had she not been so secretive about it...Had she not made love to me like I was the only person in the world after being 2 minutes away from fucking another man..." He flew up from the table, now even angrier. His footsteps became heavy and he dropped the plate in his hands into the sink, letting it fall, his hands immediately switching to the ends of the sink, gripping for dear life...dear mercy...dear control over the emotions that shook him...Dear God...it never came.

Before Alexis could blink he had flown from the sink to the stairway, charging the bedroom where he knew she slept. He rushed her closet, rummaging through the red section in search of what he knew she had yet to have dry cleaned. He picked up the dress, pressing it to his nose briefly, smelling a light trace of that heavy _La Coda _Cologne that he remembered lingering on his knuckles after punching Rod in the face... She smelled like him...His scent was on her clothes...It had been on her skin...sunk into her pores...

He couldn't take it.

His hands reached for his car keys but her voice stopped him, halting his footsteps as they longed to burn the carpet of the hallway and run out the door.

"Where are you going?" She questioned from the doorway of the bathroom, freshly showered and made up, obviously feeling better yet her voice was still a tough rasp.

He turned around, gripping at his keys so hard that he could slowly begin to feel the breaking of skin. He didn't want to talk..He didn't want to be calm...He wanted to shout, he wanted to fight, he wanted to beat the hell out of Rodrigo Ambrossi...But she had stopped him...And he didn't know what the hell was bound to happen next.

"Wherever the hell I want to..." His response came as a chaffed bitterness that confronted his anger, his eyes no longer seeing his wife...the woman he trusted...but the bitch that he had long been disgusted.

"I know you're upset but you need to calm down-"

"I don't need to do a damn thing...What you need to do...is keep your fucking lips to yourself..." Bitterness had set in...for some reason he felt as if he were dealing with the old Wilhelmina and she was toying with his feelings...not taking him seriously.

"Daniel, don't make me go there with you..." Wilhelmina warned, his temper making her temper flare as well.

"You went there with Rodrigo..."

"It's not like I fucked him!"

"You might as well, Wilhelmina!" He yelled back at her, unleashing what he had been feeling. "Anything else you want to tell me...like say how you were fucking my dad and him at the same damn time!"

"Daniel...we agreed not dig up the past..."

"You dug up the past went you started lusting after your damn ex!"

"It was nothing!"

"It was everything! If it was nothing you would have told me...Instead you came home, acted like everything was normal and you fucked my fucking brains out...I thought it was because you were just...being you…It was your birthday you were happy and maybe it was a mutual gift, but little did I know that you had gotten your present already...I didn't suspect this shit! That you...you were releasing your feelings for another man by fucking your husband!"

"I was not releasing my feelings! I don't love him, I don't even like him, it was just that moment...I just had a moment..."

"What if I had a damn moment and kissed Francesca Huh? You would have single-handedly destroyed the country of France and you know it..." He shook his head, taking a breath before pointing sharply in her direction. "You fucked up Wilhelmina..."

"Daniel I...I'm sorry..." Her voice came as a tender tenor, actually genuine. But this meant nothing to him.

"Don't!- Tell me that...I don't want to hear it...You got fucking strep throat from that bastard...You let me make a damn fool out of myself, smiling in this guy's face all the while knowing that you two had something going on.."

"There was nothing going on!"

"Tell that to someone who cares...I...I am soo done...I can't even..." He shook his head, snatching his jacket before running out of the bedroom and trekking down the stairs... She stared back at him, the back of his head that is...

He wouldn't come home that night...Or that following morning...She soldiered through the day at Vogue, smiling weakly at passersby, checking her phone every ten minutes, thinking that he would text her back...call her back...She had sent Marc on a wild goose chase, not telling him the details and only letting him know that they had a fight...a fight were she was at fault...where she had messed up...big time.

That night, she sat on the edge of her bed, waiting to see him come through the door...waiting to see him walk through the door...hear his footsteps coming towards her...hear his voice...feel his touch...All night she waited, thanking God that Alexis was there to pick up the slack with Izak because...she couldn't move...she couldn't speak...all she could do was sit...and wait.

The morning came once again and their bed was untouched, unslept in and her eyes stayed peeled in the direction of the door. A direction that remained vacant. Another day was spent at Vogue, smiling weakly and critiquing crap that she would have normally thrown away but..this time she let it slide...no longer caring...As the day came to a close, her eyes stayed wide open, peering down at the window. For a moment...Just a moment...she allowed them rest, a luxury that they had been deprived of...Her thoughts traveled to a time 3 years ago when she thought that things had been perfect...would stay perfect...never had she felt so stupid...so naive...

**OoO**

That morning, lying in bed...being there for about an hour...She realized that waking up had become the hardest part of her day...Opening her eyes to a world of tumultuous experiences...dragging her fingers against the abandoned coolness that laid still beside her...Activating her sense of smell to detect her own scent...no longer lingering with his...The dry essence that had struck her throat upon realizing that another day had past, no sign of him...Another night had whisked itself through time, still no sign of him...Sleep had become a distant friend...a part time lover really...Her eyes hung low yet the instinct within kept her awake...She had always told herself that she didn't a man...She completed herself...And she still did...but she needed him...And he knew that...

He too laid in bed, despite the time difference...It was Saturday and he didn't need to go into work...That is what he convinced himself of...That was the reason why he was still in bed...That was the reason why he couldn't stop the impulse to pick up his phone and call her...hear her voice...That was the reason why he could have almost swore that she was lying next to him, his heart dropping to his feet when his eyes revealed what his heart couldn't...She wasn't there...His chest rose and fell aimlessly, not knowing why...He pretended like he didn't know why he was there...Why he was breathing...Why he was living...without her...He pretended like the reason being was all work...But he knew...Oh he knew...it was much more... His pain...was still there...His love for her failed to overshadow what she had done...He wanted to hold her...But he wanted to hurt her...

Let her feel the pain that she had caused...No, that's not a good husband, some would say. No, Daniel wouldn't do that, others would comment...No, he loves Willie, the ignorance would speak...Well...Daniel Meade was a good husband...A great husband actually...which is why he didn't understand. His mind was not able to comprehend her train of thought or reasoning for doing something...that she knew would be of detriment to their relationship...And...Daniel Meade, as pasty as he looks...Nice as he seems...He is human...The human response to a negative action is a reciprocated action of equal measure...He didn't call her...He didn't return her calls either...HE deleted her Voicemails...Ignored her texts...emails...pages...He didn't want to kill her..or abuse her...But he wanted her to feel what tore him apart...And love...It wasn't a matter of love it was a matter of trust and honesty which she had, in her case...violated both...IT wasn't about Daniel's character, his role as a husband or the love he held for her...It was about her...the woman he married...the woman he loves...the woman he trusted...the woman he thought he knew.

He began to think...Maybe the Senator was right...HE would never really know her...All of her...The core of who she is...He just would never know.

**OoO**

After forcing herself to leave what had become a great comfort and get out of bed, she found herself staring at a woman in the mirror...The light blue eyes...mocha skin, peculiar stare...bare face...Who was she? With whom was she battling...In this 3 year transition...with whom did she stand to...With whom did she challenge...She knew that she was battling internally...fighting against the new her that had emerged and the old her that missed the spotlight...But who were these people...Who exactly was Wilhelmina Slater? Wanda? Willie? She had jumped from happening to happening never really taking...the time...to figure out who _she _was. She was now 48 and as lost as a 21 year old...Did she start over? Change her attitude? Reverse her personality? Would it make things better between them...if she changed? Now she didn't know who that was...She didn't think she needed to change for someone to love her...She could be herself...If only she knew herself.

"Wilhelmina..."

That voice disturbed her, snapping her neck around as if it had been an intrusion of her thoughts, as if Alexis knew just what she was thinking...Her insecurities...What no one should know...

"I...I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to let you know that I was heading out..." Her voice came as a calm set, higher than a whisper and lower than an inside voice.

Wilhelmina stood as if on cue, tying her robe around her waist securely, brushing a couple stray hairs from her face as she attempted to not appear like a complete mess. "Your-Your leaving?"

"Yeah...I have to get DJ back in school and French Mode can only go so long..."

"But...I thought you were coming mainly for the MAMA's..."

"Well I watched this morning and we didn't get nominated...But you...and Daniel..." His name fell as a whisper in the room, as if forbidden...unspoken... "You two got nominated...Kind of...Mode is under his name now even thought it was an issue that you did...And Vogue is under your name even though it was Ana Wintour that did the issue..."

"Where is Izak?"

"Uhhh...Sleeping...In his room...I think he is trying to catch a cold...running a light fever...He'll probably be hungry when he gets up...He hasn't eaten lunch yet..." Before she knew it, Wilhelmina's arms were around her, briefly...but she knew that they were there. "Wilhelm-"

"Thank you."

"For?"

"Taking care of him when I couldn't...And I know you feel bad...about...telling Daniel but..." She fiddled with the tassels of her robe tie. "You had the balls to tell him what I didn't...And that's rare...So Thank you."

"So you're not upset?"

She shrugged, avoiding eye contact as her head hung to the sight of her feet. She shook her head, lifting it to face her so that she could see the true meaning of her words. "I don't have a right to be."

**OoO**

She hated that house now...Standing on the 1st floor, looking up at the 2 higher stories, the third one that no one even visited...It was so big...So empty...So lonely. IT's modern architecture, seemingly cold and pale white walls, unimaginable possibilities of gloom. Now that she was alone...She hated that house.

That night was the MAMA awards, The Oscars of Publishing. She was dressed to the nines, only missing one thing that she was sure would draw the attention of all paparazzi. Advancing the stairs, she made her way down the long hallway, Izak in his bed and dressed in the suit that she had put on him some minutes previous. Touching his head briefly, she found that he was still running that fever. Gently she stuck the thermometer in his mouth, waiting for it to adjust. Pulling it out, she took a gander, finding herself in an even worse state when she read it.

"38.1."

A gulp commenced through her throat, the end of the thermostat tapping against the palm of her hand as she found herself staring at the culmination of him and her. A mini them...A bundle of what they had made...What always seemed to bring them together.

His eyes fluttered open, revealing those damned blue eyes that would never cease to evoke a smile from her. Looking up at his mother, he pointed to his stomach, shielded by a toddler Armani formal.

She rubbed her hand against his pointed spot and he winced, whimpering a bit. "Huwrt." She scrunched her eyebrows, remembering that it was one of the first things that she had taught him. If he had an earache, if he fell, had a cut, had an ache, she would know. Now more advanced, and she hoped more articulate, he pointed to his stomach, repeating that same 4 letter word or in his case, 5.

"You want to stay home?" She asked softly, rushing through his curls with her hand. HE shook his head '_No' _and reached his arms for her, prompting him to be in her own arms within seconds. She sighed, walking out of his room and shutting the lights off...Little did she know...As little Izak always had...He would be the one to bring them together once again.

**OoO**

On went the MAMA awards, star-studded and Glammed out. The 4 major publishing competitors sat on opposite quadrants of the banquet room, stirring up a tension that all expected. As everyone made their appearances, folks began to wonder...Where was Daniel Meade? She had come up with so many excuses, that within an hour of being there, he was sick, away, shy, in the bathroom and in Paris all at the same time.

She peered over curiously at the Mode section, seeing Amanda, Tyler, Marc, Daniel (Marc's Daniel), Betty, Matt and Izak sleeping in Claire's arms.

"Mrs. Meade..." Her head whipped around at the beck of her married name, scaring her, reminding her...saddening her.

"Clay?" Willie quickly pulled herself together, immediately placing on her mask for the girl.

"The photographers want a photo of you, Mr. Sauerberg, Mr. Townsend and Mr. Ambrossi..."

"He's here...I-I thought he was having surgery on his..." Her aloud thought fell dead on her lips as she watched the man enter the room, figuring out what he had done...He had left her with something...When he kissed her...He wanted to make sure that she didn't forget...He knew that he was sick...so he seized the opportunity...And called Daniel, clueing him in discretely...He knew what he was doing all along...That Brazilian bastard knew...Just what he was doing.

Wilhelmina smiled weakly, pulling on the hem of her skirt as she got up from her seat. She wore a glimmering V-neck long sleeve wrap dress in silver lame with shoulder pleating, gathered zip and clasp closure at hip and side slit that she prayed to God wouldn't be too advantageous next to Ambrossi. Joining the men, she plastered on a fake smile in hopes that they wouldn't be drunk and she wouldn't have to hurt any of them.

"Come over here Billie!" She rolled her eyes at Townsend, hearing the mispronunciation of her nick name. _You are supposed to mispronounce the first name, not the nick name. _Yup...He was drunk.

She stood next to him, her hands at her lap as she tried to ignore the alcoholic stench that rung from the both of them. Her body nearly numbed at the feel of a hand snaking, sneaking it's way around her waist. As soon as the flash hit her eyes, she bolted, trying to get away but was pulled back again.

"One with just Vogue Reps..."

She stood next to him, trying to smile yet found it faltering every time she saw his. That devious smile, smirk of deceit...Happiness of someone else's sorrow...blanket of content of someone else's discontent. Despised him...Oh, how if she could only see the future...Or at least the end of the night...Oh of she could only see...Just a glimpse.

After a couple more awkward pictures, she was left alone to sit at her table, no one really bothering her. She made small talk with a couple of big names but found it hard to carry on a conversation when each one began with the inevitable; _Where is Daniel tonight?_

People were so damn nosey and it made her want to snap their necks but...She had to keep her cool...She didn't want anything else in her life to confine her to a prison cell. The ceremony soon began and she listened to the endless name calling, _Oh my God, what a surprise,_ boring speeches and shootouts to Mom to last her a lifetime. So far, Mode had won _Best Outreach Article of the Year and Best Centerspread. _Vogue had won nothing and all eyes were on her and she didn't know why especially considering the fact that she was not responsible for any of the outputs that year.

In the last category_, Issue of the Year, _Elle, Mode, Vogue and Isabella stood to win. As they ripped open an envelope, the mic screeched on and she heard Tom Ford tap into the mic. "Excuse me, Ladies and Gentleman, We seem to have a last minute addition to the choices for tonight...Vogue's _You either know fashion or you don't- The Wintour Issue. _The champagne that hit her lips and traveled down her throat, jumped down a pipe, causing her eyes to buck, looking up at the stage.

They had nominated an issue that had just went on the stands that morning...THAT MORNING...Now Vogue had two issues in the running and all eyes were on Wilhelmina.

"The nominees are...Mode- _Estival Festival_..." Wilhelmina rolled her eyes, cursing Claire for renaming her Issue. "Elle- _Fashion Conscious Christmas_." Wilhelmina scoffed, having the courage to once again drink her champagne, before mocking the unoriginality of the title. "Isabella- _The June Issue_. " Boring... "Vogue- _The Seasoned Issue_...And Vogue..._You either know fashion or you don't- The Wintour Issue._

"And the Winner is...Elle-Fashion Conscious Christmas..." Wilhelmina clapped slowly, rolling her eyes as Robbie and Joe passed, sticking out her heel and inadvertedly tripping them both as they advanced the stage. Before she could muster up a feeling, a cry rattled her spirit, making her look over to the Mode quadrant, seeing Izak wail. He threw his head back as Dr. Smith touched a hand to his abdomen.

"Looks like somebody isn't happy with the outcome..." Tom joked, lightening the mood as the audience laughed. Wilhelmina nearly threw her glass into Claiborne's hands, rushing over to the other side of the room. Getting over there, Claire pushed her, Marc and Dr. Smith in the lobby, carrying a hysterical Izak.

Dr. Smith set him down on the couch in the lobby, ripping open his dress shirt.

"What are you doing? Wilhelmina questioned in confusion, kneeling down to his level.

"His stomach is distended..." He observed, looking at the child's protruding belly, red and tender. "He doesn't like when I touch it..." He pressed gently on the right side and Izak kicked forward, inciting a louder howl.

"Is he okay?" Claire questioned, looking at her grandson's mindless behavior.

"No..." Dr. Smith shook his head, picking Izak up gently and placing him in Willie's arms where he clung immediately. "No he is not..."

"Wait-" Wilhelmina stopped him, a panic in her eyes.. "What is going on..."

"Has he been running a fever?"

"A slight one..."

"Did you notice his stomach distension?"

"No, I didn-"

"It must have been there for days..."

"I didn't-"

"How could you not have noticed...He was running a fever..He is hysterical-"

"Daniel don't yell at her.." Marc stopped his fiancée before he went too far, seeing the fear in Wilhelmina's eyes. Fear that she had failed yet another person in her life. Fear that she had failed in another role in her life. Fear that her complete consumption in the state of her marriage might have left her child hanging onto her by a thread... "Let's just get Izak out of here...Blaming anyone isn't going to solve anything..."

"Marc's right...Wilhelmina..." Claire called out, seeing the stiff manner in which she stood. she analyzed her moves, her actions. She didn't noticed a difference in his actions, his cry...His stomach...She had given him some Tylenol for his medication...What did she do? Where did she go wrong? "Wilhelmina..." despite her disdain for the woman that stood before her, she pulled her at her arm...She pushed her to the door, helping her to carry on...To stop the blame before it consumed her...For a moment it was no longer, the devil and old dust...a bitch and a mummy...the antichrist and St. Pauls' sister...or any other good comparison...it was from one mother...to another...

**OoO**

Her knees bounced, her hands never stopped moving and her only focus now was her child. She tortured herself with her thoughts, going over her every move meticulously. "How could I be so stupid..." She blamed herself, not even knowing what was wrong but knowing that she hadn't been attentive, she hadn't watched him like a mother should...She was too wrapped up in Daniel.

She couldn't take it anymore. Sitting there, she was going stir crazy in such a solitude, silence sitting between them with Marc on one side and Claire on the other. If she got up she would run, if she opened her mouth she would scream and if she moved, she might break down. Sharing a glance, Claire found her hand on Wilhelmina's and Marc found his on her knee, ceasing it's movement. Her head sunk below her shoulders, allowing herself a breath.

"Honey, what is it?" Marc stood, seeing the worried look on Dr. Smith's face.

Wilhelmina stood alongside him, trying her best to keep her balance in the offset of her body at that point. Dr. Smith looked to her, then Marc, then Claire, taking as deep a breath as Wilhelmina had done in the previous minutes.

"He needs surgery...It is rare for his age but he has appendicitis….which was the cause for the distention and fever...Now he still has that fever and typically we are not supposed to operate when the vitals are not healthy but...We are afraid that if we wait, his condition will worsen and it will risk inflammation, Peritonitis, a more serious inflammation that if left untreated, can prove...fatal..."

"So what are you doing talking to me, why aren't you operating?"

"We just wanted you to know the risks...Operating now is as risky as waiting...It is a standard procedure and the anesthesia can have cardiovascular risks, like the heart stopping during surgery due to the strength of the drug and his extremely young age...But the procedure overall should take about 2 hours."

"Can I see him?"

"No...He's being prepped by one of the nurses right now..."

"But he's probably scarred out of his mind he-"

"He's sleeping..." She nodded wordlessly but he could still see the skepticism in her eyes. "Wilhelmina, I am performing the surgery myself...I'll take good care of him...As risky as it is...I'll try to do my best.." He turned to leave and she grabbed his lab coat, making him turn back around. She found herself with a bit more strength than in the previous seconds, her nail plunging into her shoulder as her eyes welled, trying to be strong, unshakable..."...I don't need you to try...That...That's my baby...I need you to promise me...I need you to promise me that in 2 hours you'll tell me that he's fine..."

Dr. Smith nodded, secretly caring for the woman but being too proud to admit it. He delivered Izak, he had come to be like an uncle to him...He would do his best...He would do anything he could. "I promise..." This time when he walked off she didn't stop him. The only thing she could do was fall back into the waiting room chair, attempting to hold it together.

"Did you call Daniel like I asked you to?"

"8 times from your phone and 6 from mine..."

"Call him again...This time give me the phone..."

Marc did as he was told, handling her the phone as it began to ring. She took it from him, leaving the waiting room and eventually the hospital, where she stood at the back parking lot, the dark and gloomy atmosphere not bothering her the least until she heard his voicemail, the dark gloomiest now being cruel irony. Her arm wrapped herself as she heard the beep and she felt herself begin to unravel...The guilt for leading Daniel to leave...The guilt for not watching Izak...The guilt...IT rose from her chest and exploded into the speaker of her phone, the release being something that she normally only shared with him, he was the only one to ever see her in such a state...or in this case hear.

Through her guilty sobs, she spoke...hoping that he would hear her voice...hear her heart...hear her hurt...and just pick up the phone. "Daniel..."

**OoO**

Collecting herself, she sniffled softly, wiping any stray tears and fixing her makeup so that it looked as if she was just tired and not a mess...Her reactions...His reactions..They were misunderstood. Some would say...it was just a kiss..Others would say...IT was just appendicitis...What they didn't understand was it wasn't the action...is was deeper than that...It was the reasons why.

Coming around the bend to reach the back door of the hospital that read _EMERGENCY, _she stopped, seeing a shadowy figure behind her in her shadow. She turned around, jumping back at the sight of him. "Today is not the day Ambrossi..." She warned, willing to punch him in the face if he made the wrong move.

He held his hands up, a genuine concern in his eyes. She softened, reading his disposition to not be of malice. Though this didn't mean she had completely let her guard down with him. He approached her slowly, looking around. "I did not come to cause any harm...I just...I just wanted to make sure that you were okay..."

"I'm fine..." She answered quickly, her eyes staring icily in his direction.

"And...Izak, that is his name, no?"

"Yes Izak...He's fine...Well he's in surgery but he's fine."

"I saw you crying..."

Her eyes darkened, a feeling of violation stirring within her. As she thought before...No one had ever seen her in such a state...No one had ever heard her...

"If...If you need anything...I am here..."

"You're trying to destroy my marriage, I don't need anything from you.."

"I'm not trying to destroy your marriage, I am trying to be a supportive colleague...I'm trying to make up for kissing you in the first place..."

She sighed, now feeling bad...He watched as her facade fell and he wanted to smile but felt it inappropriate considering the role that he was playing. "Thank you..." She choked out in a whisper...She was as vulnerable there as she was that September night...And he was still taking advantage of her...

"Do you mind if I wait with you?"

She was too exhausted to fight...He would not have listened to her had she refused. He probably would have popped up at the wrong time, causing a worse problem. So when she turned around, he followed her and with her not objecting he took that as a yes. His thoughts circled around the waste basket of his mind. _Who would have thought it was so easy to take advantage of Wilhelmina Slater...Meade._

**OoO**

Daniel sat at his office desk quietly, not wanting to go back to his apartment. The apartment where she had been the month before...The apartment where she left love notes all over so that the next time he came...He would think of her. HE bet she wouldn't have thought that the idea would have caused him detriment. When he would lie in bed, her scent lingered among the threaded sheets. When he would go in the living room he saw how she had changed things, rearranging his furniture and throwing out the couch that she felt was a crime against her eyes...The apartment...that took everything out of him just to stay in.

The worst thing at the moment was to be in one of the most romantic places on Earth...and not have your other half...to be fighting with your other half...to not trust...your other half. A gracious thought graced his mind when he heard a knock, taking him away from his self-pity and anger. Though when he saw who it was...his heart nearly dropped.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He exclaimed, jumping up from his desk.

Alexis wrinkled her eyebrows, shrugging a bit as if she was at a lost for why his reaction was immediately negative. "I'm here...To work..."

"You weren't supposed to leave her there!"

"Leave who?"

"Wilhelmina! I said that you needed to come back soon not drop everything and leave her alone in that huge house...Dammit Alexis, can't you listen?"

"What the hell Daniel, she wouldn't be alone had you not picked up and left without saying two words to her...You told me not to tell her where you were and she is worried sick, she knows I know something but she won't ask me...She doesn't want to cause any rift between us."

"Well it's too late for that, I told you to do something and you didn't do it."

"Daniel I don't take orders from you! And if you wanted YOUR wife to have someone there than YOU should have never left the country in the first place. What did you think that you could pull a Jesus and show up on the third day then everything would be fine?"

"No Alexis, I didn't come back home because if I see him... I'll kill him!" Her mouth closed immediately, taking off guard by the wrath that shuffled through the whisper of her brother's voice..He eyes darkened and his fists clenched at his sides and she didn't say another word. "I am here...for my safety...his safety...And saving my wife and child from having to see me go to jail over killing a man."

She nodded softly, completely understanding. The Meade clan knew all too well about the occasional murderous impulse...Usually by someone who had done them wrong. She knew how quickly it was to let your mind slip...Lose it for just...just a second...Just a second...

Their eyes locked briefly, coming to an agreement that he wouldn't push her buttons and she definitely wouldn't go there with him. Before either of them could verbalize the commitment, his phone began to rang...In Alexis's hand...

"Oh that reminds me of why I came...Your phone has been ringing off the hook...you left it in New York...I tried to answer the calls but I didn't know your password."

Only Willie knew his password...She had the key to many things...one being his phone...and the other...his heart. Before he could speak again, he realized what the ringtone was; _Grenade-Bruno Mars. _

"Alexis throw it!" He cupped his hands and it landed, his fingers immediately moving to unlock it. He pressed it to his ear. "Hello? Hello? Wilhelmina? Wilhelmina? HELLOOOOOOO?"

He pulled it away from him and saw that he was talking to his wallpaper. He scrolled down to his call history and found that he had 15 missed calls... "Alexis, why didn't you call me?"

"On what phone?"

"The work phone, that's what you've been talking to me on!"

"Did she leave a voicemail?"

Daniel pressed the phone to his ear once again, praying that she did, with an explanation attached as well. Alexis stood in the middle of his office watching as a panic set in his eyes and he began to worry, his stature changing almost immediately.

"Daniel-"

"I have to go!" He ran towards his jacket, bolting for the door.

"Wait, Daniel what-"

He didn't look back, taking the stairs as he sprinted down them. "I have to go Alexis!"

**OoO**

Her knees jumped sporadically, cultivating a mind of its own. She felt a hand...a hand that she had previously slapped, threatened and insulted settle down on the cap of her jumpy bones, settling them. As much of a comfort Claire was, her intent was on that of someone else, her eyes now recognizing Rodrigo Ambrossi, the man sitting across from her. Marc, upon seeing him, suddenly had to go grab everyone coffee. Claire, upon seeing him, took a moment to reflect upon his face...remembering his slick eyes, devious smirk and secret plan to take her daughter out of the country...She remembered the smudges of mascara that stained her orange jumpsuit in prison as Alexis cried on her shoulder...devastated...desperate...heart broken.

"I'm baaaccckkkk." Marc sang, holding the tray of hot Styrofoam cups carrying the caffeinated liquid... "One for the elderly..." He handed Claire the cup which she snatched after a roll of her eyes. "One for the Queen..." He set one near Wilhelmina as she pinched the bridge of her nose, obviously in deep thought. "One for me..." He set his near Willie's and turned to Rodrigo. "And nothing for the insensitive bastard who broke the queen's heart."

"Marc!" Wilhelmina scolded him, looking up at his smug face.

"Marc what are you talking about?" Claire questioned, eyes moving between Ambrossi and la Slater.

"Claire, If I tell you know you are going to hate me and this is not the time nor the place for me to kick your ass or for you to attempt to kick mine so can we please leave it alone for right now?" Wilhelmina looked to Claire whose hand had clenched on her knee before removing it and cupping her fingers around the Styrofoam cup, lifting the flap to reveal a small drinking hole.

"Fine..."

"Thank you..."

They waited and waited, drinking coffee with Marc and Claire switching off to practically babysit Wilhelmina to make sure she didn't rush the operating room and yell at the surgeons. But as time passed, she did get antsy...and worried...and impatient...and impulsive.

"Yeah, Willie nothing is wrong..."

"He said it takes two hours, it's been 2 hours and 45 minutes...What if something went wrong, what the hell could be taking so long if the procedure was only supposed to be 2 hours...Is he stupid, Marc is your fiancée stupid?" Her filter had gone and at this point she was on a motherly rant, her maternal instincts being the only thing she was running on as her energy, being physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted.

"Wilhelmina Izak is 3 years old, he is a baby...the surgery is probably taking longer than expected because they are just being extra careful..." Claire suggested, hoping it would calm her down

"And who are you? The reincarnation of Dr. Oz!" She got up again, still being pushed down by Claire and Marc.

"Perhaps...reminiscing about the...little guy will bring some peace..." Ambrossi spoke up, offering some highly unsolicited advice.

"I remember the first time that he met you, he nearly grew wings trying to get away..." Claire snapped, hating that the man was still there and utterly confused as to why.

"I ran too when I met him...Well to tell Amanda that there was a Brazilian god down at the shoot...But if I were to meet you today I would run...to tell Amanda that there was a Brazilian god from HELL down at the shoot..." Marc rolled his neck, narrowing his eyes with an attitude at his humorous attempt at a quip.

"Wilhelmina?" Dr. Smith called out to the group, singling out Willie.

She stood immediately, this time not being held down as she approached the doctor, decked out in scrubs and attire. "Is he okay? Did you screw up? Do I have to hurt you?"

"No..." Dr. Smith chuckled, bringing back the light-hearted atmosphere. "He's perfectly fine...The surgery went completely fine, his fever eve-" Before he could continue, he found himself receiving one of the cherished rarities in the world...A Slater hug. She held on tight, grateful to someone who had become a good friend and the person who saved her child's life.

"Thank you..." She didn't need to hear anymore...Knowing that he was enough to take the burden off...temporarily. She turned to Claire, pulling her into an embrace with Marc. "Thank you..." She turned to face Rodrigo, even hugging him for reasons that to others were minimal and to him underhanded but to her...it meant a great deal. "Thank you."

"Willie."

Wilhelmina immediately detached herself from Rod, hearing that familiar voice. When she saw his face, her feet rushed to him and she felt him pull her to him, holding her close. She felt him stiffen around her, knowing that his eyes had then focused on Rodrigo Ambrossi. His hands condensed into fists, clutching at the back fabric of her dress, using all of his might not to do what he really wanted to do...But he wouldn't cave...He wouldn't give Rodrigo just what he knew he wanted...Rodrigo Ambrossi wanted him to lose it in front of his wife...He wanted him to tarnish his reputation and punch him in the face, act crazy and give him the ass whooping that had been brewing in his spirit for days...But he wouldn't give it to him.

And this defeated Rodrigo's purpose for coming which ultimately angered him...making him try even harder. He stepped forwards offering, his hand as Wilhelmina pulled away, Daniel's hand still gripping at his back. Daniel looked at his hand in disgust, now really wanting the bastard to writhe in pain. But he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had gotten to him.

"How is he?" Daniel asked, moving away from Rod and ignoring him.

"Oh I was just telling Wilhelmina that he just came out of surgery...his fever went down and he's sleeping right now..."

"So he's...He's going to be okay?"

"Yes, in fact you two can see him right now."

**OoO**

Daniel watched from the other side as Wilhelmina's hand took to Izak's forehead, leading to his hair in which she brushed it out of his face. Her eyes locked onto his little body, eyeing every part of him...She had already looked at his scar against Daniel's suggestion and found herself heavily wracked with guilt even the more.

"It's not your fault you know..." He spoke up, pulling the covers up on Izak as he slept.

"Where were you?" She whispered, refusing to look at him as she continued to scan his body, making sure the doctor's hadn't screwed up anything.

Daniel sighed, his hands washing his face yet doing nothing but making him feel flustered. "I was in France, Willie."

"And you couldn't pick up the phone and tell me that?"

"I left my phone here."

She turned to look at, trying her best not to get angry. "Since when do you not have a home phone? A work phone...I mean you...you called Alexis."

"She's my sister."

"I'm your wife..."

"You're supposed to be my wife!-You know what.." He shook his head. not wanting to fight yet feeling it on him to do so. "You didn't seem to need me, You had Rodrigo here with you."

"I didn't invite him here he followed me."

"You should have told him to leave!"

"I-I-"

"You didn't want to?"

"NO! I...didn't have the strength to fight him..I didn't want to deal with him so I just let him sit in the corner and wait..."

"Then why did you hug him?"

"Because...He was here and you weren't...Even though I didn't want him there...He was there."

"I got here as fast as I could, I took a damn helicopter!"

"You would of been here faster had you not left the country."

"I needed to get away-"

"You could have called Daniel! I thought you were dead, I didn't know where the hell you were...You ran...You didn't want to deal with the problem at hand and you ran."

"You kissed another man! Had I stayed in this country I might be in a jail cell at this point!" His hand touched the door handle and he looked down, sharing an exchanged of glances with his shoes. "I don't want to do this right now...I'm just going to go to the house and change...Are you coming?"

"No...I...I want to be here when he wakes up." She spoke softly, still looking away in avoidance of his eyes...his hurt...his feelings. He nodded, leaving the room only to find himself back in the waiting room with Marc and Claire, the one person he hated finally gone.

"How is he?" Claire probed, picking a spare piece of lint from the shoulder of his coat.

"He's fine...He looks good..."

"Where's Willie?" Marc asked, not seeing her behind him.

"She...she's still in his room." He stopped his train of thought, putting it on halt as he had an idea. "Marc do you mind staying here with her while I go and get some of Izak's things from the house and change?"

"Uhhh...sure...Do you want me to go?"

"No, no...I can do it...I just don't want her...to be alone right now.."

"We can both stay, if that's what you want." Claire suggested, shrugging at the idea.

"Sorry Mom but I think one family member in the hospital is enough for the night."

"Well, for your information Wilhelmina and I happen to have been getting along quite nicely lately."

"Lately?"

"Tonight."

**OoO**

Returning at about 2 am, Daniel entered Izak's room, closing the room softly on his hand to minimize the noise it made. He looked over to the back wall to see that Claire and Marc were sharing the couch in some weird fashion. Marc spread out while Claire sat up, moving his feet away from her every few minutes.

"Mommyyyyyy." He looked to Izak's bed to find that he was up and whining, looking towards Wilhelmina. Her eyes snapped open and she looked to Izak raising a brow. "Huwrt..." He mumbled, pointing to his incision. She moved to call the nurse but was stopped when Daniel did it for her, pressing the button.

He looked over to her. "Go to sleep..." She settled back onto the couch, laid out vertically, and watched as he took care of the nurse situation, watching her administer some children's Tylenol before leaving. He knelt down at Izak's side, a large smile on his face. "Hey bud..."

"Huwrt."

"I know...It stinks huh?"

"Mommy."

"Mommy is sleeping."

"Monsters?"

"There are no monsters."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He didn't know what was with Izak's one word conversations lately but found it resolving when he slipped back under the covers and drifted back into a Tylenol induced slumber. Daniel sighed and looked around, seeing that there were no more chairs left and his only option was the floor.

He looked to his wife and approached her coach, getting underneath her legs where he proceeded to remove those damned shoes of of her feet, not knowing why she was still wearing them. He fell asleep massaging her feet, for reasons unknown...Maybe because he needed something to do... Or He was bored...And they were there...Maybe because he loved her...and she was still his wife...any of these would have sufficed but he found the last to be the best in accuracy. He shook his head softly, letting go a little bit of what he had held in for so long. "I still love you Willie."

**OoO**

When she awoke, she found his head lying on her stomach as his hands rested on her thigh comfortably. She wiggled beneath him, instantly remembering the night previous and his belief that she was still asleep when she was in fact very much awake. _But he didn't know. _Her hand stroked the short brown locks that adorned his head, whispering to him softly as she failed to suppress a tear that fell from her eye. "I love you too."

He stirred, shifting only a little, still keeping her in the belief that he was still asleep when he was in fact very much awake.

_But she didn't know._

**OoO**


	10. The Virtue in Time

_**A/N Here and the end! They're not the same though! **__Okay, so let me clue you guys in…This is a pre-written fic meaning that it is already completed…When I don't update it is for one of two reasons…Low reviews or I'm just two tired and lazy….The last week has been both….Don't just read and not review I DON'T CARE IF ALL YOU DO IS SAY sfoinpindvinvpinrinr As long as you do it, because reviews…They let me know that I haven't lost you…That it's still interesting and there is a reason for me to continue updating on Tuesdays and Saturdays. So what do you say we give it a second try this week hmmmm? Enjoy!_

_**-NWJ**_

Time. Can it destroy love? Does time have that power? Is time that majestic thing that the world has been looking for...The force that does all, knows all and alters...all. Can time be so everlasting, so rare...yet so acidic and destructive...Can more time just mean more pain...Does it have the power to destroy love? To take something so heavily treasured? That was labored over...worked for...chiseled...molded...and let it become nothing but a burden? Can time... do that?

And if it can, what can stop the process before it is too late? A trip down memory lane? Can going back in time cease the destruction of present time? Can it make things better? Can it reconcile the irreconcilable differences or can it...make things worse...Can time be that...harmful...yet looks so very harmless.

This is what he asked himself as Wilhelmina picked up the plain applesauce and he picked up the home style applesauce, placing it in front of Izak on his high chair. "He doesn't like that one Daniel." Wilhelmina pointed to the jar and Daniel scoffed, raising a brow.

"And how do you know that?"

"I'm his mother..I know that he likes plain applesauce."

"Well I'm his father."

"Well you know what, Mother knows best."

"And father knows?"

"Squat!" She spat back at him, not in the mood as she attempted to open the jar but not without difficulty.

"You can't even open the damn jar..."

"Daniel go pee on a hydrant somewhere..." She retorted half-heartedly as she worked hard to open the jar.

"Oh so now I'm a dog...You know what Wilhelmina you are so controlling!"

"You're damn right I'm controlling! I run this bitch Daniel! This is my car, I drive it! This is my damn boat, I steer it! This is my damn life and I run it!"

"Go tell that to someone who gives a damn...like your boyfriend..." He mumbled under his breath, turning his back on her as she poured the applesauce, nearly spilling it when she heard what came out of his mouth.

"You know what..." She whispered, before shoving his shoulder angrily.

"What the hell Wilhelmina!" He yelled in confusion, stumbling back at her strength.

"Go in the other room!" She ordered, pushing him into the adjoining room that was away from Izak. With one final shove, they stared each other down and she crossed her arms, eyes wide. "Really Daniel? My boyfriend?"

"You heard me! I mean this is the second time that you've cheated on me so let's just call it like it is!"

"Oh. My. God." She chuckled lightly, her tongue pressed against her cheek as her head sunk momentarily.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"You! You bringing up Connor like some jealous teenager?"

"I'm not jealous, I just know that you slept with him!"

"How can you hold something against me that I can't even remember!"

"You knew exactly what you were doing!"

"Daniel...I had a heart attack...I slipped into a coma and I woke up not remembering our relationship! How the hell can you say that I knew what I was doing?"

"Wilhelmina it is black and white! You cheated on me...again."

"Let it go! You're like a freaking homeless person carrying around black bags of garbage that you WON'T LET GO!"

"If it was me, you would be a widow in jail by now because you would have slit my throat."

"It was a kiss, it is not like I slept with him! You have been an ass for the last week, ever since we left the hospital and you need to let it go!" Truth is, if he were to let it go, she would feel even more guilty than she already did.

He exploded, leaving the room after making his last statement that reflected his exasperation and yearn to just end the conversation. "You know what just give him the nasty applesauce!"

**OoO**

Time. Does it fade love? Does time have that power? Is time that majestic thing that the world has been looking for...The force that does all, knows all and alters...all. Can time be so everlasting, so rare...yet so acidic and destructive...Can more time just mean more pain...Does it have the power to fade love? to take something so heavily treasured? That was labored over...worked for...chiseled...molded...and let it waste away? Can time... do that?

And if it can, what reverses the curse? A trip down memory lane? Can going back in time cease the destruction of present time? Can it make things better? Can it reconcile the irreconcilable differences or can it...make things worse...Can time be that...harmful...yet looks so very harmless.

He asked himself that question as they sat at the dining room table of their home, not saying a word to each other. They had been cold, distant for the passing few days as they waited for Izak to be released and even in the event of it being so, they remained the same. Izak was recovering from the surgery upstairs and Marc and Betty were out on the porch trying to issue a statement on behalf of their bosses.

But their bosses...were sitting at the dining room table...Trying to figure out if they still loved each other...If the fire still burned...If the passion still lingered and the eruption of emotions still locked in their hearts, waiting to burst at any moment.

The trust was gone...And all they did was fight...Yes they had admitted to each other that they had loved each other...but not to each other's faces...Daniel was bitter and Wilhelmina was confused and time...was passing by...Had it been infatuation? Was Willie right when she said that they jumped in their relationship? Was Daniel right for staying away...running...Was he running for love or running...for his life?

Gripping at his coffee cup, his voice spoke in a low whisper, his eyes avoiding hers and looking away. "I think that we need some time apart."

"We took some time apart and our son almost died." She shot back at him, trying to stay leveled, trying to keep her cool yet found herself at a loss of what to do.

"When we are together we just fight...this morning we fought over what applesauce to feed Izak...Applesauce Willie, we had a big blow-out fight over..._applesauce_."

"It was a disagreement..."

"It was just the tip of the iceberg, Wilhelmina..."

"Daniel...Do you know how stupid it is to be apart right now? The guy who said absence makes the heart grow fonder is a damn fool!...If we leave each other now who is to say that we will ever make it back together?"

"I...I don't know baby..."

"Don't baby me Daniel!" She stood from the dining room, slamming down her cup down. She turned her back to him, staring out to the window as the day's first snow began to fall. She shook her head, her arms wrapping snuggly around herself as she felt him come up behind her, his hands rubbing at her arms that were still at her side.

"It's for the best..." He whispered, the decision not being easy for him either.

"Daniel we have issues...We should work them out not run away from each other..."

"We aren't running away..."

"Then what do you call separation?" She turned around, her eyes moistening slowly, guilting him. She shook her head softly, allowing it to fall to his chest. "I'm sorry..." She gasped sharply as a bout of tears released from her heart and erupted from her mouth. His hands moved at the spine of her back, knowing that she blamed herself...Knowing that she found herself in the guilty seat for their deteriorating relationship...He wanted to tell her that they were bother at fault...they were both to blame.

She lifted her head, cupping his cheeks, staring into his eyes as he stared into her moist ones. "I love you...okay is that what you want?"

"I know you love me Willie...And I love you...But I..." He dipped his head low, reflecting on recent events.. "I-I need to trust you.."

"You can trust me..."

"I can't do that anymore Willie..." He sighed holding onto her before she jerked away, running upstairs and he ran after her, calling her name. She lead them into their bedroom and began rummaging through the drawers

"Wilhelmina what are you doing?"

"Here!" She exclaimed, lifting a silver CD in her hand. It read Medusa X II, her face with snakes regrouping from the back. "Take it!"

"What is this?" He questioned?"

"Do you remember when your father died and the day of the funeral Mode's systems shut up down and all of the data was lost?"

"Yes...?"

"This is the reason...This is my second copy..I always kept it...I didn't want to trust you, It was my safety net...Take it!"

"Why?"

"Because I don't need a safety net anymore Daniel! And I need you to feel the same way!" She threw the disk at the wall and took her phone out of her pocket. "Here...I'm deleting his number, I'll fire him if you want..."

"Wilhelmina you don't have the power to fire him."

"Then I'll quit."

"You're under contract."

"Well what can I do Daniel!" She pointed at herself, her upper body wearing a white tee and black draping sweater, hair a mess and eyes now red and puffed. "Tell me what to do!" He was silent, honestly not knowing what to say to her or how to respond. "Tell me!" Her voice came as a near scream yet is was a pleading scream, a beseeching scream, a desperate...scream.

Before he could even think of an answer, his eyes flew up to the ceiling that was beginning to leak, a splintering crack trailing up its white surface. Slowly a buckling came and both of their eyes were up hearing the decisive cracking of wood before his hand pushed her out of the way and on to the bed as the ceiling came down on their floor, opening up a front seat to heaven. Daniel looked up, seeing that the ceiling had fell through the third floor and the attic so much so that he could see the snow falling through their home.

He didn't tell her what she could do to save them...But inevitably time would.

**OoO**

"Wow, what did you folks do?" The idiotic man observed the hole from the attic, looking all the way down to the debris in their bedroom.

_"Us folks _didn't do anything." Wilhelmina snapped at the man, her shoulders being held by Daniel as he felt the heat rise up her body.

"Look, do we need to leave while the damage is fixed?"

"Unless you want to be walking in water and breathing asbestos.."

"Asbestos was banned in 1930 and this house is brand new."

"Well obviously you all missed spot because the ceiling caved in little miss history…"

You are two seconds away from having concrete poured down your throat, don't make me do it..." She warned, getting irritated with his antics.

"Can you give us a moment alone?" The man left and Daniel kissed the side of her head, while she took note of the affection that suddenly washed over her from him. What she didn't know was that every time he saw that hole he shuddered at the thought that she had stood in that spot, mere moments from being crushed by the heavy cartilage of their home...the home that he helped build just for her.

"That scared the hell out of me..." She whispered, his hands turning her.

"I know...But you're okay..."

"We'll have to stay at the apartment...Or I'll stay...and you can go to your old one..."

"No, we'll both go..."

She turned lightly, her hand resting on his chest as his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close. "But I thought you wanted to sep-"

"I want to work things out...That's my concern.."

"I-"

"So what did the guy say?" Betty questioned, Marc following close behind her.

"Uhhh...We have to go back to Willie's old apartment while they repair the damage."

"Do you guys have anything there?"

"Everything is still there...we never moved any furniture from the house just clothes and little things like kitchen ware and decor."

"Kitchen ware? Who was using it?" Marc joked, his laughter dying down when no one joined him.

"Wilhelmina are you okay?" Betty asked, looking at her usually put together attitude being so frail.

"I'm fine..."

"Oh it's just...you look a little nervous..."

"I'm fine I was just...I was standing right there when...I was-"

"She's just a little shaken that's all Betty." Daniel answered for her, his arms finding a tightening around her waist beneath her folded arms.

"Betty maybe you should leave...We don't want the floor to cave again."

Betty shoved Marc to the side, leaving. "Shut up Marc!"

"This house can only take so much you know."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina watched from a distance as Matt, Tyler and Daniel brought in their luggage for their temporary stay at the apartment. Betty stood beside her, somewhat uncomfortable for reasons unknown. She had never seen Wilhelmina barefaced...shaken...hair scraped back in a ponytail and utterly candid. Sure, it had been 3 years but when Daniel began his relationship with Wilhelmina, Betty began to distance herself...Still there for him but no longer agreeing with his choices.=, so she was never familiar with this side of her boss.

"This is kind like a down-grade...Like you lost everything." Amanda blurted out, chewing her bubble flavored gum loudly.

"The house isn't in foreclosure Mandy it's just broken..." Marc corrected, stepping next to her in his refusal to do manly work.

"Like Betty's spirits when Mode discontinued Taco Tuesdays in the cafeteria?"

"Exactly."

"I'm standing right here." Betty informed them, dumbfounded.

"Well you have been AWOL so all of the possible jokes we could have made about you now are stored up."

"Like the Twinkies in Betty's desk drawer?" Amanda asked again before busting into a combustion of laughter with Marc.

"For your information...I have been in and out of Africa...Matt and I just got back from his fourth tour..."

"You've been back for a month...almost 2, and I have seen Daniel more than you have..." Amanda added, not allowing her to get off so easily.

"Well I've been occupied...Helping Mrs. Meade with the issue since it was abandoned."

Amanda and Marc's laughter soon ceased, realizing what she had just said and that she had just said it beside Wilhelmina.

"Abandoned?" Betty turned on her heels, switching to look at Wilhelmina, realizing that she had heard her voice. Wilhelmina's arms crossed her chest as she stood, not impressed and actually kind of shocked. "Are you implying something Betty?"

"I didn't say anything about you Wilhelmina." Betty retorted softly, shrugging off her emotions.

"You said that Mode was abandoned... 4 months ago I was running Mode Betty and now I'm not, I think that is saying something about me."

"Wilhelmina I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry." She rolled her eyes softly and Wilhelmina scoffed, her mouth wide before feeling a hand on her shoulder.

"We got everything out of the truck and I checked on Izak...He's still sleeping.."

Wilhelmina nodded and they all stood there, staring at her. She looked around in confusion with a risen brow. "I hope you're not expecting me to become Lois Griffin and invite you to stay for dinner because I'm not cooking and I don't want guests..."

"You don't have to cook..." Matt mumbled.

"We can order in." Marc chimed in.

"I'll call Ariel and tell her that we're having dinner...then it'll be family." Amanda spoke up, taking out her phone.

"I'll get the take-out menus." Tyler announced.

"What the hell just happened?" Wilhelmina questioned as the tiny group dispersed into the kitchen, leaving Wilhelmina flabbergasted before turning to look at Daniel in confusion.

He chuckled, squeezing her shoulders gently. "Our friends just invited themselves to dinner..."

"Friends? You know that Betty doesn't like me Daniel...And you barely do either."

"Wilhelmina, yes we have issues but we can still have a good time...I may be a little..._upset_ with you right now...But I still love you."

"I love how you failed to mention Betty's feelings towards me."

"Willie, Betty is still adjusting to the idea of-"

"It has been 3 years, if she hasn't gotten used to it by now then she never will."

"Willie, I stopped talking to her...I don't...tell her when I fight with you...I don't share with her anymore because then she would hate you...If I would bring her into our arguments it would just make things even more difficult and she would always take my side and you were the one who said that I have an ego problem.."

She smiled lightly and he lowered his head slowly, embracing his lips with hers. The instant contact sent a rivet down her spine...She had missed his kiss...the love it carried and the message it sent her. The buff of his chest held her condensed fists as they clenched against him, their lips still meeting yet not moving as if they both were relishing in the contact. The distance between them being magnified when they did something that they had long been avoiding. It was as if being in that apartment...The home base of their love had somewhat brought them closer within their few minutes of being there.

"Guys what kind of Pizza do you want?"

With the voice of interruption their contact fell to that of their foreheads as their mouths took a break, his hands held gently to her waist, then and there wanting to forgive her...Then and there wanting to let go...then and there wanting to make her his once again.

"Tyler are you daft? Wilhelmina Slater- freaking Meade doesn't eat Pizza!"

"Marc I know you're the Wilhelmina-whisperer but I don't think they deliver caviar so she's going to have to learn."

They chuckled, their foreheads bouncing against each other's before they lifted their heads. He smiled when he saw that stretch of her mouth still being there...A glimmer of happiness that had long been missed...Something that he hoped to restore in her...and in him as well. He pulled her close, her fists still resting on his chest as her head found solace on his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her and he yelled over to the other room.

"We'll be there in a minute!"

He returned his attention to her, not knowing while all of a sudden, the anger he felt was slowly depleting and his yearn was no longer to see the face of Rodrigo Ambrossi pummeled to a pulp but to see their relationship whole once again...For him to stop hurting..For her to stop hurting...For them to just get on with life.

Silence engulfed them for neither of them knew what to say. There were no words of consolation, of love declaration, of validation...Words at that point could do no more than ride the sound waves of the air, their moment going much deeper than that of lines that formed letters that formed words that formed statements that...could do more than ride the sound waves of the air.

**OoO**

"What about that shoot in Arizona and Amanda thought the cactus was a chair!" They all collapsed in laughter, Amanda's eyes darting in Tyler's direction as his laughter soon ceased under the intensity of her glare.

"Didn't it take 2 days to get the thorns out of her ass?" Matt questioned, turning red from his cackles.

Dr. Smith nodded, laughing into the opening of his beer bottle.

"It's not funny." Amanda pouted, looking at them seriously. "If you want to laugh you should talk about Daniel and Wilhelmina showing up drunk to the Editor's Retreat last year."

"Hahahahahahahaha!" Daniel buried his head in Wilhelmina's shoulder as she laughed as well, her hair covering her face after letting it down from the tight ponytail.

"Wilhe-Wilhe-Wilhelmina got on stage and called Claire Meade, Chlamydia!" Marc sputtered out through his laughs, holding at his ribs as his face turned a light pink being barely able to breathe.

"Daniel thought that Ana Wintour was Fey Sommers and started cussing her out!" Matt added, distinctively remembering that hilarious night.

Their laughter reached a high and slowly came down, all of them now thinking about Ana Wintour and the predicament that Wilhelmina was in...Those that knew of course.

"How is...Ana Wintour, Wilhelmina?" Betty asked, cuddled up to Matt underneath his arm.

"She's still unconscious, Betty if you haven't noticed the life of a comatose patient is not very eventful."

"I just thought that you would know since you two were such great friends...So much so that she left you her magazine."

"Betty I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well she left you Vogue."

"She didn't leave me anything."

"Then how did you get the job?"

"That's none of your business..."

The rest of the crew looked at the two of them, wanting to know who would be the next one to speak and if they would finally see Wilhelmina slater beat Betty Suarez into some fashion sense.

"Sooooooo." Ariel chimed in, lugging down her beer. "How did you two get drunk that night in the first place?"

Daniel looked to Wilhelmina, chuckling softly, nudging her to do so and get her out of kill-bill mode with Betty. "Well..."

_"Daddy are you satisfying yourself with mommy?"_

Daniel and Wilhelmina jumped up, hearing Izak's voice come through the baby monitor. The rest of the crew nearly died laughing, stuttering and cackling over what had just been said.

"Satis-Satisfying himself with mommy!" Tyler shook his head softly still laughing as the rest of them cackled heartily.

"Is that what you two tell him you do." Matt asked, looking up at them.

"It is Sunday though..." Amanda added, smirking in Daniel's direction.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Wilhelmina looked to Daniel, a brow raised.

"Amanda...-"

"Usually every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday Daniel comes to work with a sex grin so I assumed that he gets _satisfied..." _With the mention of that word they all began to laugh again. "...On Sunday nights, Monday nights, Wednesday nights and Thursday nights..."

"Is that what you do now...Sit in the office and discuss our sex life with Amanda?" Wilhelmina questioned.

"Not now..I've known for 3 years...I know so much I might as well be in bed with you two."

"I'm going to go check on Izak." Daniel announced, leaving the room in embarrassment.

"You know what it's getting late." Wilhelmina taking a look down at her watch, then glancing back at the rest of them.

"Oh I see, trying to give yourself time to give Daniel his Sunday night shag?" Dr. Smith inquired.

She rolled her eyes, wishing that would be so but knowing he hadn't touched her in 2 weeks. "When did you all stop being afraid of me?" She asked, holding her Perrier water in a tight grip as she reclaimed her seat on the couch.

Tyler shrugged, chugging his beer before answering. "When ya went soft and started baby-making with Daniel Meade."

"O-M-G, Willie are you pregnant?" Marc exclaimed, mouth open wide.

Wilhelmina grinned and Amanda squealed, opening a finger in her direction. "O-M-G Marc she totally is."

"I am not you nosey bastards!" Wilhelmina replied, still grinning.

"You haven't had one drink tonight! All you drink is Perrier water!" Amanda called her out, now making careful observations.

"Amanda I am not pregnant."

"Then why are you smiling." Matt asked, also wanting to know.

"Because you all are idiots and I just realized that my IQ totals more than the sum of everyone else's in this room combined...Which is sad because _he_ is a doctor." She pointed to Dr. Smith and Amanda turned to him, tapping him sporadically.

"Yea, yeah you're a doctor tell us if she's pregnant! Tell us!"

He laughed. "Amanda you can't tell if someone is pregnant just by looking at them."

"Yes you can! I totally knew Oprah was pregnant this year when she put on all that weight."

"Mandy...Oprah isn't pregnant...Besides she's like 60...She's way too old to get pregnant."

"So is Wilhelmina but she totally is pregnant!"

"Amanda please stop putting a child in my womb with your mind...I'm not pregnant and I am not as old as Oprah either!"

"Lie!"

Her brow lifted. "Which one?"

Amanda laughed, pointing a partly drunken finger. "You are sooooo pregnant."

"I am not pregnant."

"Pray-tent?" Wilhelmina turned around to see Izak holding onto Daniel's hand as they walked in from the hallway. "What's a pray-tent?"

"Thank you Amanda." Wilhelmina looked to her, speaking in sarcasm, a language that Amanda obviously didn't understand.

"You're welcome."

"What's a pray-tent!"

Tyler laughed, as did Matt and Betty when he before he answered. "It's when Daddy satisfies himself a _liiiiiittle _too much with mommy!" They all laughed yet it all came to a halt when their eyes meant the ice of Wilhelmina's. She narrowed them, sitting back casually and allowed the blue glaze of her eyes marinate in theirs.

"It-I-It is totally getting late, c'mon Tyler." Amanda shoved Tyler up and Wilhelmina's eyes moved to Marc who was already up and grabbing his coat from the coat rack. He looked to Dr. Smith who rose a brow right back at Willie, a chuckle on his lips. Her stare intensified and his beer lowered from his lips slowly and he got up, smiling weakly as Matt and Amanda got up as well, not willing to endure the stare as well.

Amanda walked passed, reaching a hand at Wilhelmina's stomach which quickly got swatted. "Bye baby Meade!"

"Amanda!" Her swats led to Amanda fleeing the apartment, Matt holding the door for Betty and Tyler.

"Love you mom." Ariel hugged her quickly, putting on her jacket before fleeing as well, right behind Marc and Marc's Daniel.

"Daniel why is he out of bed, he is supposed to be resting."

"Willie he's a toddler, he needs to...toddle."

"Mommy!" Izak tried to hug her yet retracted, feeling the pain of his incision. "Huwrt."

"Aww...Are you sleepy?"

He nodded and Daniel scoffed. "You little player, Willie he just took a nap he just wants your attention."

Izak turned around to face Daniel growling at him as he reached for Wilhelmina and she lifted him carefully into her lap. "Are you jealous of your own son?"

"No." Daniel smiled, picking up after the crew and the mess they left and the mess that would be ranted about in the days to come by Wilhelmina when the saw her once again, that also being the main reason that they would be avoiding her for a while after that night.

**OoO**

She peeled back the covers to the bed, remembering the nights they spent together before moving into that mega-mansion. The content they felt there in what now seemed like little apartment in compared to the new gargantuan house. He shuffled next to her, looking at the calendar before moving to the door, inciting her to speak.

"You don't...You don't have to go."

He bit his bottom lip, knowing that they had slept separately for the last week...Again, he just wanted to forgive her and let it go but...he couldn't...Not yet. "I know….I was coming to get a blanket and then…I'm just...I'm just going to stay in the guest bed."

"Oh...okay..." She nodded softly, running her hand under her pillow and pulling out a plush caricature.

"Since you're going that way, can you drop this in Izak's room? It may help him sleep..."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I think it's Minnie Mouse." She threw it in his direction.

"My boy is sleeping with girls already..." He mumbled to himself before catching the doll. He looked at it, taking multiple glances in confusion, then returning his look to Wilhelmina with a smirk on his face. "Wilhelmina."

"What? What's wrong with it?"

"Willie, this is Mickey Mouse, not Minnie Mouse."

"What's the difference?"

"A regular and a transgender mouse!"

She chuckled lightly, rolling her eyes. "Just give him the doll..."

"And I'll be making sure that he knows that it is a boy...And his name is Mickey..."

"Daniel..."

She chuckled as he acted in sarcasm, laughing as well. "...Having my son all confused..."

**OoO**

"Are you going to comment about _People _Magazine saying, and I quote, "_The King and Queen of Mode are finally forced to take a step down from their pedestal with the new Meade mansion already in foreclosure. A close source reports that the Housewarming has been canceled and their things are going up for auction this weekend.'_" Claiborne looked to Wilhelmina, looking her dead in the eyes yet she got no response. "Mrs. Meade..." Wilhelmina, unresponsive, stayed silent with her eyes peeled as if in a trance. "Mrs. Meade!"

Wilhelmina jolted forward, shaking her head a bit. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Are you okay?" Claiborne questioned, taking a seat across from her.

"Oh I'm-I'm fine..." She shook her head, smiling weakly for Claiborne who was not budging.

"Mrs. Meade...I don't mean to pry but-"

"Then don't..."

"...BUT...Lately you seem distracted...Upset...Tired...Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Claiborne I-"

"Because Ms. Wintour and I...we were close and I could always tell when she was having one of her off days...or weeks...or years..."

"Well I'm glad but I already have my assistant confidant and he's gay and will have you killed if you try to replace him..." She folded her hands over her desk, becoming more alert as the moments passed. "Besides...I don't remember Ana being the type to..._share..._with her employees."

"Well I wasn't just any employee!" Claiborne barked before catching herself.

Wilhelmina rose a brow, leaning back slightly as she looked at the girl...Her facial features...Her eyes...her auburn hair. "Oh my God..."

"I don't know what you're thinking but whatever it is you're wrong."

"You're her daughter..." Her voice descended into a whisper… "That's why you were acting like a pissy little brat when I came...I was replacing your mother..."

"I was not being a pissy brat! And you are not replacing her! She is not dead yet!"

"So you admit that she's your mother..."

Claiborne held her breath, now regretting waking up that morning... "Please please don-"

"Don't worry...I did it for Fey Sommers and I'll do it for Ana Wintour...on one condition."

"What?"

"Stop calling me Mrs. Meade...It has the connotation of an old brittle...blonde annoying piece of dust and I'd rather not be reminded of her-it... every moment of the day...understood?" Claiborne nodded, moving hurriedly to get out of Wilhelmina's presence.

"Clay..." Wilhelmina stopped her, evoking her to face her boss despite her current embarrassment. "The uh...TV Dinner family...that is where she placed you?"

"She thought it was best….After a couple of years in foster care….that's where she placed me..."

Wilhelmina nodded, shocked that the girl was willing to bare so much information yet completely understanding when she scampered away and out of her office. She hoped to herself that she wouldn't become like that. She promised herself that she would never become that. All divas were the same...Unhappy...Childless...loveless...And bitter. Thinking of her relationship, she knew...Wilhelmina Slater could not ...would not...repeat the process.

**OoO**

Daniel walked in the conference room, taking a seat at the back as his mother went over the layout for the new issue. She turned around, feeling the loss of interest suddenly increase in the editor's. "Well, well, well...Just what do I owe the privilege?" Claire smiled, having seen very little of her son in the recent days.

"He's probably hiding from Wilhelmina and her pregnant hormones." Amanda blurted, her head falling down yet her eyes darting up and scanning the room. She jumped from her seat, seeing Daniel's face. "Got to go." She ran out of the room and Marc smiled nervously, pushing her chair in.

"Is Wilhelmina... pregnant Daniel?" Claire questioned, forgetting that the Editors and three fourths of the Mode staff was there, only focusing on what she just heard

The Editors clapped and Daniel shook his head, waving his hands in front of his face. "Stop, stop Wilhelmina is not pregnant, Amanda is just being...Amanda." He corrected, seeing his mother's complexion return after learning that the information provided by Amanda was false.

"I just came to observe...please mom, continue."

She nodded, still grabbing her barring as she turned around before pointing to the Balenciaga ad. "With the Black is the New Pink issue, bringing in this new ad buyer and having it smack dab in the middle of our usual monotone ads, speaks volumes about the concept and relates back to our layout..."

"We signed Balenciaga?"

"I...signed Balenciaga...Just last week." Claire smiled, scoring a point on her internal scoreboard.

"Really?"

"Yes, Marc and I met with them and we signed them to 13% for 3 years.."

"You're kidding?"

"Why are you so surprised Daniel? Mode doesn't need Wilhelmina to do well...We're good on our own, right team?"

The Editors looked at each other, questioning the declaration.

"Right team?" She attempted a glare but failed miserably seeing how they were spoiled by the patented Slater glare and were not even moved by the newly acquired Meade glare. She sighed, a hand on her hip. "Who signs your paycheck?"

They all looked to Daniel and he chuckled at their loyalty to him and Willie. Claire sighed, her arms going up in a huff. "Okay that's it, I give up; Meeting adjourned."

As they adjourned, Claire made her way to Daniel, getting a hug from him before anything else. "What was that thing with Amanda all about?"

"Nothing she's just convinced that Wilhelmina's pregnant."

"Why?"

"Just last night, we were all hanging out.."

"Wilhelmina was hanging out with Amanda?"

"Well...Me...Willie...Tyler...Amanda..Betty...Marc...Matt...Dr. Smith...Ariel.."

"Since when does Wilhelmina Slater associate herself with...the common folk?"

"Mom, I'm telling you, you don't know her...Ask anyone one of them and they'll tell you that the work Wilhelmina is not the same as the home Wilhelmina."

"Anyone of them except Betty."

"Why?"

"We all know that Betty does not like Wilhelmina, it's really common knowledge son."

**OoO**

Standing in their kitchen after a long day's work, Wilhelmina found herself entranced in the memories that engulfed that apartment. All the events and happening...the little things, the big things. The scary things, the exciting things...So many..._Things.._

_"Willie what am I supposed to do!" Daniel exclaimed, holding a wet washcloth to Izak's bloody mouth._

_"How the hell am I supposed to know!"_

_"Well you've have kids before!"_

_"Daniel I'm not that bad of a mother, not all of my children have sustained mouth injuries!"_

"_You're the mother!"_

"_And you're the father that told him it was okay to play blind hide-and-go-seek IN THE KITCHEN!"_

Her hand washed over the now almost unnoticeable light pink stain on the counter top, making her reminisce on that day.

_"This is the worst Anniversary ever..." He whispered in her ear as they swayed in the middle of their living room, surrounded by photos, layout and Chinese food._

_"It is not..." She settled her head on his shoulder, next to her hand as his hands held at her waist._

_"I was going to take you out on the town...we were going to go to dinner and have a good time but we got stuck redoing the layout for the issue...It's not right Willie, I wanted you to have fun not work tonight..."_

_"Daniel...This isn't work, it's what I do..." She raised her head to look him in the eyes, his pouty, disappointed eyes. "And the fact that you're here with me makes it better than any night on the town could have been..."_

_"You're just saying that..."_

_"Yeah, maybe…" He chuckled, pecking her lips before she spoke again. "…. but...I do love you...And As long as you didn't forget and you remembered our anniversary...Whatever we do together will be special...Even revamping the February issue."_

She passed the living room, still almost being able to visualizethe moment but knowing that in that day and time, it would have been to good too good to be true.

An hour later he was doing the same, looking over the house and realizing the memories that it held, the foundation that it created for them and the atmosphere that it set.

_"Daniel if you punch that wall I swear to God, I will punch you in the face."_

_Daniel drew back his hand with his steel glove and with all his might, pounded into the wall, leaving a large hole._

_Before she could reach his face, he grabbed her arm, handing her a glove. "Try it."_

_"What?"_

_"Put the glove on and try it...Act like it's one of the editor's...Or even my mother...Just try it...You'll feel better."_

_Hesitantly, she put the glove on and drew back her fist, knocking a hole 3 times the size of the hole that he had made right next to it. She stopped immediately, her hand and body never moving as her breathing came quickly and labored._

_"Baby..." Daniel grabbed her shoulders from behind, a little frightened. "Are you okay?"_

_She shook her head, looking down before exclaiming. "I just broke your mother's face in two and it...felt...soooo good."_

_"Willie?"_

_She turned her head around before preparing to take another shot. "Daniel?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"You just created a monster."_

Reaching their bedroom, he pushed open the door to see that she was just settling in at about 10 pm, unusually early for her. Noticing him, she looked up and he noticed the numb look in her eyes that instantly came. "Did you come to grab a blanket before you go?"

He shook his head and she nodded, turning out the light so that all she saw darkness. "Good night..." When she didn't hear a response she assumed that he had left before she had said it but her theory proved false when she felt a presence creep up next to her and onto the bed. An arm slipped under hers and pulled her back against his chest...closer to him.

Time. Can it heal love? Does time have that power? Is time that majestic thing that the world has been looking for...The force that does all, knows all and alters...all. Can time be so everlasting, so rare...that missing piece of the puzzle...Can more time just mean more memories...Does it have the power to heal love? To take something so heavily treasured? That was labored over...worked for...chiseled...molded...and utterly broken down then slowly but surely something that begins to blossom once again? Can time... do that?

And if it can, Is it time or is it going back in time to remember when love was at its strongest? A trip down memory lane? Can going back in time cease the destruction of present time? Can it make things better? Can it reconcile the irreconcilable differences and can it...forgive...the unforgivable...Can time be that...underrated...yet so very powerful.

This is what he asked himself as he held his wife...his _wife_...close to him. As he felt the breath enter and release from her body...Felt her chest rise and fall against his arm and her heart...beat against his...in unison...and for the first time in two weeks no other emotion occupied his heart but love for her...and forgiveness.

**OoO**

_REVIEW GOSH-DARN-It! P. S Thanks to Deslil, M. C and Addicted!_

_**-NWJ**_

**OoO**


	11. Chapter 11

_Ohhhh Is this Chapter a day early? Yes it is and it could become a habit if you ppl turned out reviews like that each time! 12? I appreciate it sooooo very much and I just want to thank all of you that made an effort and reviewed. Please enjoy this next chapter =D_

_**-NWJ**_

She knew that she had to get up. It was Monday. She had a meeting with Sauerberg and Townsend, first thing that day. But she barely got any sleep the previous night, her eyes closed yet her mind waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to roll over and leave, say something that was of repression from his mind...She knew that she had to get up. But her body wouldn't let her.

The only part of her that was willing to cooperate was that of her eyes, opening them to find Daniel's back to her, his hands fumbling for something. Realizing what he was going through, she spoke up hastily. "What are you doing?"

He jumped, spinning on his heels to see her staring back at him from their bed, a sleepy look in her eyes. "I was just...um..." He turned around and closed the file cabinet behind him before looking down at the file in his hands, trying to figure out a way to explain his actions before finding it suitable to just blurt out whatever he had to say. "Is this you?" Daniel questioned, holding up the file with a paper clipped photo on the left side, the papers stapled opposite it.

"Wha-...What are you doing going through...Why would you-" Her short, fragmented questions went unanswered as he stared back at her, holding up the last photo of the person that she attempted to bury many years ago. The person that, with all of her might, she relinquished from her personality. The person that she now stared back at.

"Willie I want to know you..." He closed the file and sat on the edge of the bed, she still lying there as if her back was super glued to the mattress. Her eyes watched him, traced his moves as his eyes flickered between her and the file. "Before I can forgive you, Willie I want to know you...I want to know who I am letting back into my heart..." He opened the file on his lap, sliding the slick, faded photo from beneath its paper clip to hold it up. "Willie..." He pointed to the woman in the photo, prompting her to sit up just a twinge, as much as her exhaustion wracked body would let her. "Is this you?"

She took the photo from him, staring at it for a brief second before flipping it on its back and shielding the unwanted face from her view. "Why are you doing this?"

"You are the one that suggested we get to know each other, and that is exactly what I am trying to do."

"Getting to know me or snooping through my files?"

"You're the only person I know that has a file...on themselves." He smiled weakly, knowingly trying to take the edge off of what had the potential to be a radical situation. It could go one of two ways, she would either get pissed and burn the picture...and the file, or she would get quiet and tell him about it later.

"Can we do this later, I have a long day ahead of me." She flipped back the covers, nearly allowing him to fall off of the bed as the sheets were pulled from beneath him. A robe wrapped around her, she walked around him and straight to the bathroom, giving him his answer.

"Wait-Willie..." He stopped her, letting her spin on her heels to face him. She lifted a brow in his direction, a claw holding onto the brace of the door giving him the clue that he had touched a nerve. "What time will you be home tonight?"

"8." She responded, resolute about the time and monotonous about the tone. "Why?"

"Well...I was wondering...I was wondering if you would like to join me...join me for a-" He looked down, trying to set the anxiety that he felt at bay yet felt it growing increasingly harder as her eyes pierced his.

"Are you trying to ask me out on a date?" She questioned, trying in vain to hide the smile that was forming with the crest of her mouth.

"Are you going to say yes?"

She craned her neck, the tip of her toe twirling on the carpet before her fingers slid off the arch and she found herself at a turn, responding to his question. "I'll be home at 7:30."

**OoO**

"Wilhelmina we have a problem." Townsend sat down at her desk as Sauerberg did the same, their faces reminiscent of an attempted stern look but as you can imagine it was quite difficult with the eyes darting back at them.

"Like what?"

"We don't think that you're..." Sauerberg looked to Townsend, looking for the word to throw at her before returning back to her glare. "_...committed _to the job."

"Well I am already married Robert, what kind of commitment are you looking for?"

"It's just that Wilhelmina, you _are _married...to the head of Meade Publications, our biggest rival."

"I still own 50% of Meade Publication; that should be your issue. Not my marital status."

"But it all adds up to the big picture, Wilhelmina. You are labeled as a Mode girl in the press...You belong to Mode."

"Okay, whoa." Her hand rose to his face, stopping him in his tracks then and there. "First of all I do not belong to anybody, Secondly...If I were to be labeled as something it would not be a Mode girl because I am a grown woman Robert, something that you need to understand. I am fully aware of the PR conflict that my relationship has had on Vogue but...Let me remind you of that fateful night where you two...blackmailed me into working here, had it not been for Ana Wintour's unfortunate accident I would have dropped dead before I worked at this God-awful place. Your main colors are boring, the employees are rude and I have to threaten to send half of the staff to a village of Indian head hunters before I can get a suitable issue, now how the hell do you suggest that I become _committed _with work conditions such as that?"

"Try working more with your Creative Director, I mean you barely use him."

"That's because he is barely here, He is practically non-existent...I don't even know why you hired him, he barely comes into work, he barely contributes anything and yet his name is STILL on the masthead."

"Well then what do you propose we do?"

"Fire his Brazilian ass."

**OoO**

"Daniel!" Amanda flagged him down as he made his way through the door of his office. "The lodge in Aspen wants to confirm for the Editor's Retreat."

"How many days do they have us down for?"

"3."

"Well why do they need to confirm?" He sat down at his desk, picking at the bagel that she placed in front of him, her red lipstick hinted at the bite mark on the side.

"Conde Nast is staying at the same place...on the same days...for their Christmas Retreat..."

"Amanda.."

"Okay, okay...Winter Retreat, geesh people these days are so sensitive." She rolled her eyes, pressing her nails into his bagel, snapping a piece off of the non-burnt side before finding herself rushing back to her desk, in search of information for the front desk in Aspen.

With the loss of a guest, someone new arrived in the person of Claire, waltzing in his office. "Mom." He greeted, getting up immediately. "I need your help..." He hugged her briefly, exchanging a kiss on the cheek before he withdrew, letting go of a heaving breath.

"What is it? Is it about Mode? Another magazine?"

"No...actually...it's not exactly Mode related...More...personal..." His voice lowered, and she matched his eyes, mouth open slightly as she attempted to synch up with him in failed attempts.

"Please don't tell me it has something to do with morning sickness, fatigue or hormonal fits of rage."

"Mom.." He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Wilhelmina is not pregnant, I'm telling you the truth...Soon maybe but not now."

"Soon? Since when?" She fell back into a chair and he followed suit parallel to her.

"Mom, since July..."

"Why didn't you tell me that you wanted more children?"

"Because of the look on your face right now." HE looked at her and she leaned back in the chair, contemplating quickly, her nails tapping on the armrest before she spoke again.

"How far along is she?"

"Mom...Wilhelmina is not pregnant."

"Well you said trying since July, I would expect-"

"Mom it's not that easy...And we...put that on hold because she's working at Vogue."

"Why?"

"Well...I just liked the idea of her...being pregnant...better when she was at Mode...I mean what if she needs something or something happens? I mean here, everybody is kind of like a weird dysfunctional family but at Vogue it's just dysfunctional."

"I don't know if this is romantic or apocalyptic." She leaned her head on her hand, trying not to shout her disapproval at the top of her lungs.

"Speaking of romantic...Can we please get to what I needed to ask you about?"

"That wasn't it? Be careful Daniel, I can only take so much."

"It's nothing major mom it's just a...a dinner..."

Claire smirked, feigning innocence. "Oh...I see."

"See what?" Daniel asked, not seeing the reason for her sudden change in mood.

"You are sooo sweet." Her hand graced the plum of her cheek as she stood, a large smile on her face.

"What did I do-"

"What time should I be there?"

"Be where?"

"At the apartment for this..._dinner." _Her brows rose suggestively, a shine about her now that she was under false pretenses of their conversation and his plans concerning the impending night.

"Oh um...be at the apartment by...7:30..." He stood, pulled into a hug by her before she made it up in her mind to leave. "Uh...Mom are you sure you don't mind?"

"Mind, I'm ecstatic that you even remembered." She winked at him, turning to leave, leave him a puddle of confusion and the mind to forget it before straining the few brain cells that remained after an already exhausting day.

"Did you finish the bagel?" Amanda asked, prancing back in shortly after Claire's departure.

"Oh Amanda! What day is it?"

She shrugged, fumbling with her fingers before taking the seat that Claire had vacated. "October 3rd...otherwise known as the day Willy Brandt was elected mayor of West Berlin..."

"Amanda what does that have to do with anything?"

"It doesn't, it was on my homepage and I thought it was interesting...A lot more interesting than the email notice that I got about your mother's birthday."

"My mo-my mom's birthday?" He grabbed his phone, scrolling to his calendar and eventually the current date before looking to see that he had previously marked it as Claire's birthday or in his case _M-B-day_.

"You didn't forget did you?"

"No...Well you didn't remind me!"

"Daniel...I'm not Betty...I actually have a life and I have better things to worry about then your tans and birthdays...I am in a dead-end in my relationship and I don't know where it's going and on top of that I'm late!" She exploded on him, leaving the lingering of onion bagel breath and awkward tension in the room.

Daniel looked around, not knowing how to respond or if it was safe to respond before replaying what she just said in his head. "Amanda..." He set his phone down on his desk and sat on the edge of his desk, becoming more than an employer, but a friend. "Is that why you have been trying to make Wilhelmina seem pregnant to other people...Because you're afraid you are?"

"I have not-"

"You switched her Aspirin for Prenatal medication...Which actually wasn't clever at all because the two pills look completely different and I carry a pouch of it as well so basically, your plan was a fail with no point what so-

"_What does this have to do with anything?" _She mocked him, trying to avoid the inevitable.

"Amanda, Tyler loves you...I know he's taking a hell of a lot longer to make a commitment but trust me...Before you know it, you'll be a Meade too." He smiled gently and she did the same, picking up his burnt bagel, lifting it shortly.

"I'll go get you a new one..."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina sat on the couch, looking back at her watch like clockwork, every minute on the minute. She had been surprise how the tides had turned so and just the other day they were at each other's throats and he couldn't trust her and yet that day they were going on a date but she knew...he still didn't trust her. And as the time passed, her mind began to think that it was a cruel joke...That he wasn't going to show...That he wanted to hurt her...make her feel like he did..She tried to convince herself otherwise but found her mind to be quite convincing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He looked at her, setting his briefcase down on the floor. "I am sooo...sorry."

"I didn't think that you were going to show." She stood, linking hands with him, refusing contact with his eyes.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because...You might want to..." She trailed off, finding the sanity and total insanity in her statement all at the same time.

He chirped his neck, touching her chin briefly in contact. "What?"

"...Hurt me."

"I told you that I want to forgive you Willie..."

"You want to...But you haven't..."

"Well it takes a while but I'm not going to be bitter and angry with you for the rest of our life together..."

"Hello hello hello." Claire peaked her head in the apartment, the door still dangerously creeping open.

"What is with Meades and repition?" Wilhelmina questioned, folding her arms over her chest.

"Hello to you too Wilhelmina, how is Izak?"

"He's good..."

"Where is he?"

"With the nanny."

"Why, I thought that you were going to take him."

"Take him..."

"Watch him...keep him while Daniel and I are at dinner."

"Daniel and..." She turned to Daniel, confused. Her hips became a rest stop for her hands as she looked at Daniel incredulously, wondering the inevitable. "Daniel what did you screw up?"

"Mom..." Daniel, faced her, his heart sinking when he saw the smile leave her face. "When I needed to speak to you this morning it was to...ask you if you could watch Izak while Wilhelmina and I go to dinner...Not for us to go to dinner.."

"So you forgot my birthday?"

"Mom I-"

"I'm so embarrassed..." She shook her head, it bowing before him as she attempted to shield the welling up in her eyes. "I..." She pointed to the door, turning about to see it. "I guess I should be going-"

"Claire..." Wilhelmina called out, her hands wrapping around the blue satin, boat neck dress that hugged her body and defined her curves. "Why don't you...join us...for dinner tonight."

"No, I was obviously forgotten and I don't want-"

"Mom I didn't forget you."

"Daniel obviously you did." Wilhelmina corrected, obviously having no problem with being completely honest...this time. "But he is going to make this right and you, old woman, are coming to dinner with us whether you like it or not...So I'm going to go tell Carla that she needs to watch Izak for a couple more hours and when I get back, you both need to be in the car..."

Wilhelmina left the room and disappeared into the hallway, leaving Daniel to look up to his mother, seeing the hurt in her usually dim eyes. "Mom-"

She turned her back on him and opened the door, going down to the car to await them both, yet only wanting to leave, go home and figure out why life seemed so lonely...Why her child forgetting her 65th birthday nearly broke her heart and why...Wilhelmina Slater was being so nice...well in the only way that she knew how.

**OoO**

At a secluded booth, Daniel and Wilhelmina sat opposite Claire, neither persons speaking. Claire continuously rolled her eyes at the rose petals and candles on the table that reminded her of the fact that the dinner was not even intended for her to attend. She felt awkward sitting there, intruding on the couple's dinner and found it even the more weird that Wilhelmina had invited her.

"So...When were you two going to tell me about your plans..." Daniel looked up, really feeling like putting a piece of duct tape on his mother's face. He motioned for her to be quiet but before he could, Wilhelmina was already involved, looking up from her plate.

"What plans?"

"The procreation of a demon spawn...Or my grandchildren."

"Oh come on Mom, Izak is not a demon spawn."

"The last time I babysat him, he gave me a hug just so he could bite my shoulder." Daniel chuckled, dabbing his mouth with his napkin.

"I don't see how any of this is funny." Wilhelmina spoke up, pushing her plate away. "What happened to not telling anyone...We don't even know if it'll..." Her voice trailed off, now getting upset even the more. "Geesh Daniel, you weren't supposed to say anything..."

"Oh come on Wilhelmina...I'm his mother, if he can forget my birthday then he can tell me his life plans..."

"Whatever..."

"Willie..."

"So Daniel what would you prefer? An infant clone of her..." She pointed to Wilhelmina. "Or Chucky himself?"

"I liked it better when you were wallowing in self-pity." Wilhelmina added, getting up from the table. Daniel sighed, giving her plate to the passing waiter.

"Mom, what was that?"

"I don't know why she is being so sensitive...She puts me in the grave almost every day but I can't mention her evil conceptions..."

"She doesn't...like...discussing that kind of stuff Mom."

"Well, well, well… Wilhelmina Slater has a soft spot."

"Shut up you gray sack of potatoes." Wilhelmina reclaimed her previous spot before, now looking a tad the paler than usual.

"That was fast..."

"Daniel, do you..." She looked to Claire, sneering a bit before leaving her head behind him to whisper to his ear.

"Wait one second..." He reached in his breast pocket only to find it empty. He reached on the inside of his suit and found that went as well as the other side. "I can't..." He patted down his pants... "I can't find them..."

"It's okay..."

"No it's not, you asked for them and I don't have-"

"_**Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday-"**_

The two waiters set the sparkling Chocolate Ganesh cake in front of Claire, their whispered _Happy Birthdays_, unexpected. She looked up to Daniel who smiled weakly, still trying in vain to find what Willie had asked for.

She removed herself from the table, for whatever reason. "Excuse me..." Daniel looked to his mother and she nodded, giving him the go ahead to leave without her feeling upset. He got up and followed her footsteps to the women's restroom, earning a few strange stares.

"Daniel this is the ladies' room, you can't be in here..." She shook her head, hands gripping at the sink for dear life as the pigment disappeared from the curvature of her knuckles.

"Willie..." He called out softly, seeing her clutching at her chest discretely, her breathing labored and heavy. "You haven't been taking your medication have you?"

"I ran...out..." She spoke between pains, trying to find release in the squeezing of the sink but found the granite less than helpful.

"Well why didn't you-"

"Do you think I have had the time? With everything...that's happened.." He looked down, now realizing that he had forgotten to acknowledge the toll that their differences could be having on her. He extended his hand in her direction and she looked to it while blowing out a deep breath.

She took his hand quickly, transitioning to his body for support rather than the decor of Madison 6. Her head found his chest as she squeezed his hand, trying to work through her pain but finding it difficult.

"Just breathe through it..."

"It's chest pains Daniel, not labor." She spoke sarcastically as her forehead made indirect contact with his front, a quickening in her own chest leading to a sharp gasp that enticed her to hold tighter to his hands.

"When is your next appointment with-"

"November Daniel..." She answered hurriedly, not really trying to hear words as God seemed to play Ping-Pong with her heart.

"Do you want to go home?"

"But your mother-"

"Do you want to go home?"

"...Yes."

They returned to the dinner table and Claire sighed, having finished her cake and enjoyed the celebration alone. Wilhelmina looked down at her place setting, seeing two round white tablets and found Claire's brow lifted suggestively.

Wilhelmina shifted in her seat, taking the tablets without taking her eye...off of Claire's and making snide comment. "Old people always have drugs on them..."

"You know what I realized? The irony in you having heart Issues...And yet no heart."

**OoO**

"I'm going to go check on Izak." Wilhelmina left the two alone in the living room after they all made it back to the apartment safely. Claire stared back at her son, not wanting to be the one to break the silence but found it to be probably best. Before she had the opportunity, his eyes lifted to hers.

"I am so sorry Mom I-"

"Daniel I understand...You have a life now...a family...things to worry about other than me and...I'm adjusting."

"I didn't mean to forget Mom...I would never...intentionally...do that to you."

"Don't worry about it...I...won't hold it against you." Claire smiled and he kept a straight face, seeing something else that was bothering her...

"Mom are you okay?"

"Daniel I'm fine."

"No...I mean really...Are you okay?" He touched her arm shortly and she dropped them from her chest, feeling a rush to her eyes as she looked away, not willing to no longer be the strong one. She had to keep it together...but she was falling apart. "Mom..."

"Daniel I am 65 years old..." She nodded, holding both of her lips against each other. "65...My husband is dead and my children have begun their own lives and families...It would be nice to look forward to a birthday and not have it forgotten...I'm already lonely Daniel I don't need to reminded every year."

"Mom I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't..." She shook her head, turning to the door with one hand on the knob. "Just remember next year...okay?" He nodded guiltily and she left the apartment, closing the door softly behind him.

Without warning he found himself being startled by a piercing scream followed by a cackling laugh. Deciding that he needed something to laugh at as well, he turned the corner and entered the hallway, leading himself to the bedroom. "What happened?" He asked, a smirk coming upon his face when he saw Izak crawling on Wilhelmina playfully.

"Mommy bit me." HE spoke pointing a finger in her direction.

Daniel looked to Wilhelmina who was nearly collapsed in hilarity. "Willie?"

"He...he bit me...And I bit him back..." She took a deep breath, trying not to laugh too hard.

"Why...are you two...biting each other?"

Wilhelmina looked to Izak who smiled, baring his small teeth before wrapping his arms around her, laying his head on her chest. She laughed, stroking his hair, blurting out what first came to mind. "He needs a haircut..."

"Is anyone going to tell me why you two have bite marks on your arms?"

"Bed bed bed bed bed bed..." Izak mumbled, sliding of the side of the bed to go to his own room, leaving his parents alone. Daniel ran a hand through his hair as he passed, his attention immediately returning to Wilhelmina.

"How was your day?"

"You mean before or after I ruined your mother's birthday?"

"You didn't ruin it...You damaged it..." He smiled, crawling onto the bed after removing his shoes.

"I hope that for your sake, you are not getting on my bed in those street clothes..."

"Willie..." He pressed his lips up against her cheek. She felt the widening of his mouth against her skin and knew that he was smiling as his hand found her hip and she withdrew, remembering something. Her hand condensed into a fist against his chest, pushing him away lightly. "What?"

"Sauerberg fired Rodrigo his morning."

"Why?"

"I asked him to..." She bit her bottom lip cautiously, hoping that her decision wouldn't backfire and end with him being upset with her.

"Willie...I love you...that will never change..." He assured her, seeing the withdrawal in her body language.

He spoke love but he pulled away, dismissing any further moves of contact that had the potential to be made. To keep from getting upset, to keep from thinking she was lying…that she was still just old herself….He had to remember that he was forgiving her...It was a process...They weren't there yet...He couldn't touch her without a pain flashing in his eyes...He couldn't kiss her without biting back a pit of anger. But...they could talk.

"So...How was your day?" She asked him, watching as he got up from the bed and began to unbutton his dress shirt.

"Chaotic...Amanda might be pregnant..."

Willie lifted a brow, grabbing the Vogue book. "Oh..."

"You know when she told me...I kind of...I kind of felt jealous..."

Wilhelmina huffed, now getting agitated. She did not want to feel bad nor did she want to bear the burden of guilt but found herself beginning to do exactly that. "Daniel We talked about this..."

"Willie I'm not saying this to make you feel bad but...I just...I just want kids Will."

He got under the covers with her, stripped down to a pair of boxers. She touched his cheek softly, trying not to succumb to her sadness. "In due time...When my heart is stronger...When I'm back at Mode...We'll try again..."

"And in the meantime...I can get to know you..."

She smiled, falling flat on her back, cushioned by the pillow beneath her. She spoke softly as a whisper, hesitant yet strong. "It was me."

"What was-"

"The photo...It was me..."

He turned to lay on his side, his head propped up by his own hand. "Why did you change?"

"Because...Everyday someone that I thought I knew told me how...unattractive I was ...And eventually I began to believe them..."

He got quiet, listening to her as she spoke, eyes locked to the ceiling. "The woman that I saw in that photo was absolutely gorgeous..."

"Daniel-"

"No I'm serious...She looked genuine...Kind-hearted...Giving...Content...And just because someone told her that she wasn't pretty shouldn't have stopped her..."

"When...it's the man that you had been with since you were 16..." She turned her head, a sharp gasp escaping her as she attempted to keep her composure yet still felt the lingering of a salty presence roll down her cheek. "...Who you thought loved you...The man who fathered your child...No longer finds you attractive...You tend to believe them..."

"Well...this man...Who has been with you for 4 years...and tells you that he loves you every day that he can..._KNOWS _that you are beautiful...then and now..."

"You're still a man."

He sighed lightly, taking his thumb to the lining of her cheek, catching the impending tear and her attention. "Yes but... I'm your husband...And I'm the man that is beginning to fall in love with you all over...again."

She turned her head in his direction and found him staring right back at her, serious in his expression and serious in his statement. When he moved into kissed her, a thought ran across her mind with the essence of maybe...getting to know each other wouldn't be so bad after all.

**OoO**

The month of October came and went but not without the Fashion Halloween Party of the year. Beginning 2 years previous, Vogue began to host a Halloween party and invite their rivals being, Mode, Elle, Bizarre and Isabella. This year, Wilhelmina was determined to eliminate the usual tacky haunted house concept and go with something a bit more edgier... scarier... eviler...more her. The Vogue Halloween party had been completely revamped...As was her relationship with Daniel. As they rediscovered themselves, they began to make their way back to each other, sometimes falling but getting back up. Their wounds were still healing but...the point was that they were healing indeed.

On that fateful night, she found herself standing in the kitchen of the apartment, preparing a small snack for Izak before they left for the party. Interruption came when two hands found her hips from behind, squeezing gently.

"Daniel..."

"I'm sorry mam' but you're under arrest."

She smiled, not bothering to turn around. "And what are the charges?"

"Why sexiness of course...In the third degree."

"You are such a cornball..."

She turned around and he stepped back, double-taking a second. She wore a scandalously short blue minidress, matching tie, and officer's hat. On the side pocket hung a pair of handcuffs and a Billy club, her belt being metallic enough with chains. And to top it all off, her bracelet wore a can of pepper spray.

"Now how can I be under arrested, and I am the corrections officer?"

Daniel stood there in his juvenile, black and white striped jumpsuit, holding his hands out in her direction. "Then arrest me officer!"

"You're so silly..."

"Mommy I'm a muwdera!" Izak came barreling in the kitchen, holding his arms out so that she could see his handcuffs, the outfit he had on matching Daniel's.

"Awww...and a cute one at that." HE cheesed and she took off his hat, ruffling his short curls. "I miss his hair..."

Daniel chuckled. "You're the one that wanted to cut it."

"I know that but I want you to act like it was your idea so I won't feel guilty." She joked and he laughed in response, glancing at his sons shorter do.

"Oh come on Wils he looks great."

"Just like the house?"

"Now the house is another story...Those guys are taking forever to repair the floors...What has it been, a month now?"

"I don't mind...I actually missed being here." She slid back on the counter top, crossing her legs at her ankles in her knee high boots.

"Well of course you did...you've had this place for over a decade..."

"Well it's not just that...There are a lot of memories here...A lot of things happened in this apartment...Things that I'd rather not forget..."

"Like?"

"Oh come on..."

He smirked. "I'm just messing with you...I remember..." His hands leaned against her lap as he moved to kiss her, working his hands from there to the rest of her body. She smiled against his lips, a month having done so much for them. He had...forgiven her...And they were at the beginning...to becoming their old selves...They were becoming a _them._

**OoO**

Everyone had hit the dance floor, also formally known as the Vogue conference room without the triangular desk. Editors, Interns, Assistants and all, everyone was bumping and going along with the music. Couples swayed and singles danced around the floor, still having fun.

A slow song played and Daniel found his hands around her waist, her head leaning against his shoulder after schmoozing endless heads and kissing endless asses. Before he could get into the song completely, he was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, causing him to turn around, his arm still wrapped at Willie's waist.

"Hey Tyler..." Daniel looked him up and down, seeing his cowboy outfit and repressing a chuckle.

Tyler's eyes looked about, hands sweating and fingers fidgeting in front of him. He gave Daniel a suggestive look and Daniel took Wilhelmina by the hand, leading her through the crowd to follow Tyler's nervous self.

"Daniel what-"

Tyler stopped mid-dance floor, the music fading out. Slowly the crowd dispersed and a circle ran around him and Amanda, she of course not even noticing as she bit into a Snickers bar. Marc, knowing exactly what was going on, snatched it from her much to her protest, leaving a chocolate ring around her mouth as Tyler grabbed his country guitar from his side. Amanda looked down at him, licking her fingers in confusion.

"Why is it so quiet?" She yelled, looking around before finding that she was the only person speaking. "Oh..."

Tyler sighed shakily, Daniel standing behind him to ensure that he didn't faint. Tyler looked to Amanda, staring into the blue eyes where he found solace, comfort, the love of his life and the mother of his future children. He strummed the guitar once, clearing his throat as the room grew still and silent and Amanda continued to lick her fingers in oblivion.

"Hey there Amanda. What's it like in New York City?. I'm a thousand miles away. But girl, tonight you look so pretty. Yes you do. Times Square can't shine as bright as you. I swear it's true. Hey there Amanda. Don't you worry about the distance. I'm right there if you get lonely. Give this song another listen. Close your eyes. Listen to my voice, it's my disguise. I'm by your side. Oh it's what you do to me. Oh it's what you do to me...So will you marry me?"

Wilhelmina grinned beside Daniel, feeling him squeeze her hand gently, seeing the tears well up in Amanda's eyes. She had been a toy to men, an object, a body, breasts and a mouth...She was never a person...a mind...a heart...a soul...until she met that man. The man that then bent down on one knee, presenting her with a ring.

"Mandy...You already handle our money...you tell me what to do...And you pick out my outfits like I'm a doll...The only thing left is for me to make it official and take you as my wife...So…..Amanda Tannen Sommers...Will you marry me?"

Amanda looked down at him, awe struck and eyes big, nearly frozen. After a minute passed Marc smacked her back, making her squeal. "Yes!" A high pitched yell evoke from her mouth after his strike and Tyler squinted, not knowing if it was a yelp of a yes.d

"Was that a-"

"She said yes!" Wilhelmina intervened, growing tired.

Tyler stood and slid the ring on her finger, the crowd around them clapping accordingly. Amanda smiled brilliantly, leaning into his ear and whispering something quickly. Tyler retracted quickly, mouth open slightly before the back of his head met the hard marble floor. The crowd gasped and Daniel chuckled, not taking it very seriously. The crowd began to grow thin and Daniel inquired with Amanda about the subject of her whispering.

She shrugged, pulling a lollipop from her pocket as she admired her ring. "I told him that I was pregnant." Wilhelmina shook her head, watching the young girl walk off, admiring her ring still and indulging in her craving. As Daniel helped Tyler back to Earth, he stood, blinking hard and breathing fast as he attempted to trail Amanda and make sure that he didn't mishear her.

Leaving the two Editors-In-Chief alone, they exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing as the other. They had both watched the awkward love form between two young couple and seeing the end result made them reminisce on their awkward relationship and just how it began...And one other thing too.

Wilhelmina rolled her eyes as she grabbed a glass from a passing waiter, spewing something before downing her drink. "Damn I feel old now..."

Daniel laughed, kissing her cheek as they went on with the party. "I'll clean your dentures for you..."

"That's not funny."

**OoO**

"Come on..." Daniel held out her coat for her as she pushed her arms through, exhausted and just ready to feel her feather pillow beneath her head. She scanned the room to see Izak lying on one of the temp desks, sound asleep.

"This was a great party you know..."

"I know...I planned it, what else could it have been?"

She turned around, her hands landing on his chest before he leaned into peck her lips sweetly. "Let's go home..."

They pulled apart and Daniel went to grab Izak, advancing towards the elevator before turning around to see Wilhelmina in the same spot that he had left her. "Willie..."

"The book..."

"Isn't it at home?"

"No, I brought it in this morning for a creative meeting..." Daniel looked at her, standing, exhausted as well. "Well you two go downstairs...I'll be down in a minute."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive..." She nodded and he walked onto the elevator as she went back to her office, all the way down that damned hallway. Finding the key in her pocket, she unlocked the door and walked in her office, looking over her desk from a distance to see if she saw the book ahead of time. When she didn't she huffed, now having to search for it. She knew that it had to go to print in the morning the day after next and she already had Townsend and Sauerberg with their wrinkled blotchy faces thinking that she wasn't _committed._

"Not committed my ass...I could be sleeping right now...Or at least drinking..." She mumbled beneath her breath, searching the book in one of her bottom drawers.

"And what a fine ass it is."

Wilhelmina jumped back from her desk, looking up to see that unpleasantly familiar face. He stood in her doorway and walked further, closing and locking the door behind him.

"What, you thought that you could just have me fired and I'd be gone?" He questioned, stalking towards her desk as she backed up yet found the back wall to be the end of her travels.

Her eyes moved to the door and flickered between that and the face of her intruder. Thinking fast she attempted to run to the door but was caught by his rough hands, lifting her into the air, much to her protest. She grabbed the Billy club on her side and clocked him in the head, hoping to get away but his grip only grew tighter before she felt herself being thrown onto that...obscure...red...chaise.

"You _attempting _to stop me is only going to piss me off even more." He brought his lips down to hers as she squirmed beneath him, attempting to get away. She slapped him away and he held her down, prying open her legs with his knees roughly, bruising her skin.

"DANIEL!" She yelled his name repeatedly, yet remembered that Claiborne had told her about the sound proof walls. Nothing got in and nothing…..came out.

"Shhhhh...Moments like this are usually more romantic." HE fumbled with his hands, winding them between the narrow space between her back and the cushion of the chaise.

No matter how hard she fought. No matter how hard she yelled for him to stop. No matter how many times she screamed her husband's name. It was as if nothing could be done...It was going to happen whether she liked it or not.

Her legs kicked hard and angrily in the air, beneath him as she felt his fingers attempt to remove the girth that seperated his serpent like body from her _place_, knowing exactly what he was trying to do. When she tried to spray the pepper spray, the knob was broken….She struck him repeatedly with the Billy club but he wouldn't budge and she could only feel her emotions rising, her anger swelling and his person bulging against her thighs as the fight she put up delayed his plans.

A surge of boiled down hatred ran through her and she reacted like a crazy woman, kicking and screaming as he attempted to restrain her, to control her. And her rant only ceased...when her power proved to be weak beneath his strength and she felt him enter her roughly.

A whimper escaped her mouth that was now covered beneath his hand. His thrust had not only surprised her but shut her wrath immediately. Her body stiffened beneath him and her eyes could only see who had did the same previously. She became a 14 year old girl again and all of her power ceased to become her as it was replaced with the weakness that she involuntarily let fill her.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout, she wanted to do...so much...but yet she found herself succumbing to fear when she felt him slip the Billy club out of her hand, the pepper spray from her hand and show her the blade in his hands, thrusting into her with a lasting exertion of force that made her shriek in disbelief.

He pushed his hand down on her mouth once more and stared at her seriously before speaking. "I am going to take my hand off of your mouth...But only because...I promised you that I'd let you scream my name...one...last...time...And I am a man...of my word."

She knew that she had to get up. It was Monday. She had another meeting with Sauerberg and Townsend, first thing the next day. But he had a knife to her neck, the strength to hold her and the fear instilled within her. Her eyes closed yet her mind was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to roll over and leave, take the knife and kill her already...take out a camera and ruin her like he had said he would...She knew that she had to get up. But nothing would let her.

**OoO**


	12. I Crashed Down and I Tumbled Pt 1 of 2

**_A/N~ _**_At the end!_

Daniel sat in their Town Car quietly after strapping Izak in, now ready to go and hit the sack. It had been an eventful evening, with Amanda confirming her pregnancy suspicions and Tyler proposing. He was happy for them in the inevitable attempt to not be jealous. They didn't want children right away nor were they planning on having any at the time...Yet they were getting a child...Just...like...that...They had tried, had wanted and had planned...And they were still empty handed...Just...like...that.

Realizing that he was beginning to nod off, the time went into criticism mode, critiquing every decoration choice and comparing it to Meade's. When was approaching 1am and rain seemed to impend the skies, his patience ran thin and he requested that their longtime friend and driver watch Izak.

When he made his way into the Conde Nast building, he immediately he got to the Vogue floor, the comparison continued, in his mind claiming that the red and white was like Christmas, not seasonal like the Mode colors. Ever since Wilhelmina started working there, his dislike for the Conde Nast Cooperation and anything Vogue related gradually increased. He called it friendly competition and others called it jealousy over the fact that another company had his wife and he didn't. Tomatoes, _tomatoes_.

He walked down the long hallway to her office, the door closed. He jiggled the knob and knocked on the door, looking inside to see her shuffling at her desk, papers casted carelessly around. When he knocked, she jumped, her hands going up in an uproar, causing the stack of paperwork to do the same.

He watched her closely as she came to open the door wearing an obvious limp, something that peaked his interest. When she opened the door, a scowl burned her lips as she stared at him, her eyes hard and empty. "Don't scare me like that..." She hissed at him, snatching the door open before returning to her desk, avoiding his eyes.

"Why are you walking like that?"

"I fell okay!...Get off my damn back." She snapped, slamming a drawer close.

He stared at her, seeing the widening of her pupils, unruly curls and seemingly torn dress. Her hands trembled by her sides and her continence had shifted a 360 in the, to him, apparent insignificant minutes.

"Wilhelmina what happened?"

"Nothing! I can't find the book and I know it was here...But I just I can't find it..." she pulled open a drawer from her desk, jerking it back roughly. She did it in such a fashion, that the contents of the drawer inevitably spilled onto the floor, startling her even the more. "Dammit!" She bent down to clean up the mess and he joined her, kneeling beside her. His hand grazed hers and she flinched, the mere movement of her body wafting a distinctive odor by his nostrils. _La Coda._

He stood up immediately. "Wilhelmina what the hell is going on?"

"It's probably at home...Let's go home...It's probably there...at home..." She repeated herself sporadically, pulling at the skirt of her dress to lengthen it as she stood yet found that it only tore at her touch. She left the room in a hurry, not even bothering to lock the door. His eyes followed her, his mind now up and working despite his exhaustion. Something had gone on in that office...Something terrible.

**OoO**

It had been a silent ride and a stiff entrance into their apartment beginning with Wilhelmina running to their bedroom nearly immediately after entering the door. After putting Izak to bed, he entered that same bedroom, finding her clothes in a trash bag beside the bed. The steam escaped beneath the door and lingered in their bedroom as he changed his outfit from prisoner to a white fitting tee and jeans.

On the other side of the door, Wilhelmina leaned on the back shower wall, allowing the water to burn through her skin, heating her temperature and wash over the fresh bruises that adorned her inner thighs and legs. Normally a woman would cry at this point...it's what happened in Tyler Perry's movies...In Law and Order: Special Victims Unit...It was what was supposed to happen...right? She had never been a normal woman but this..._thing _that happened to her did happen to normal woman unlike many other things that occurred in her life. So she expected the normal response...

When she closed her eyes to see the darkness of her lids...no tears came...She could only seem him...up...and down...up...and down...It made her sick...His smirk...his laugh, the feeling of his hand on her jaw as he demanded his name escape her lips and all she could say...was Daniel's...Oh how she called out his name...And oh how he never came...because he didn't...hear her...No one did.

In the years previous, after her near tragic heart attack and during her stint as the _old Wilhelmina, _she asked herself a question. Though she wouldn't remember, being that it was practically in her sub-conscious...It did apply. How do you hit rock bottom in a never ending hell? You lose everything...Everyone. When you call and no one answers. When you scream and no one hears...When you're there and no one notices. How do you hit rock bottom in a never ending hell?

Just how do...You hit rock bottom in a bottomless pit. Reach the end of the endless and stop...the unstoppable.

As the water seared her body, she looked to her skin and saw the red blotches beginning to form, letting her know that the water was too hot...But she didn't care...That was her intention...

She threw her head back and felt her feet slide forward and her back quickly meet the eternity of the hardness that was the tiles of her shower. In doing so she let out a howling cry. Some would have deciphered it as a scream...a yell...a yelp...But she...she knew what it was.

_A war cry._

She now took it upon herself to declare war on humanity. To trust no man so thou shalt not be betrayed. Her guards had slowly come down over the years...She had gone soft...She had been taken advantage of...She had become a mother...a wife...and lost herself...When had the Wilhelmina Slater she knew let a man take...her virtue...If a man was going to fuck her, she decided that he was either going to beg for it or she would give it up willingly...but no man...would ever take it….. against her will.

She felt her skin beginning to bubble and decided it best not to get scald burns all over her body but...Had there been no repercussion that man could see...That would be questioned openly...She would have just let it happen...Just as she felt she had earlier...She felt that she had let it happen...not fought hard enough...She didn't scream loud enough...She didn't do enough...and...Until...there was a way that she could turn back time and make it so that it never happened...In her mind...She will have never done...enough.

She wrapped herself in a black towel, drying herself off, allowing her wet hair to lie on her back. Like a sudden impulse she felt something rip through her body. Something that hit her gut and crippled her to leaning against the sink...That something...was the normal response.

It was too strong. It affected her breathing, her nerves, her stance. As quickly as she could, she made her way to the door, snatching it open only to find out that he had been sitting there on the bed, waiting for her. Walking to him, she fell into his arms, clutching at her towel as that scream...that yell...that yelp was finally heard.

Like a child, she was cradled in his arms as her mouth opened against his chest, releasing a bout of sobs that shook her body, a thundering cry, an impulse that could have made the sky begin to shed tears of rain, the trees shed the leaves and the light...make way for the darkness.

It was one of those moments when one person doesn't know what's going on….Doesn't know why it is going on or if it has anything to do with them. But that person knows how to be there...How to hold a person, be a place of solace...a place of solitude...be a living...sanctuary...be that altar...to lay your burden down.

**OoO**

At the age of 16, Dr. Daniel Smith decided that he wanted to practice medicine...to help people...Some saw it as healing but he didn't believe that he had that power...to him, he could only usher it in but it wasn't in him to heal someone. He was committed to his job, committed to his passion.

When he imagined his patient care, he thought that it would consist of some critical thinking. With some speeding down the highway...late nights...But not 3 am calls to come to his fiancée's ex-boss's apartment for an emergency.

Yet despite his lack of expectation, he did comply and made sure to leave Marc in the dark out of the orders of Daniel. Being lead to the bedroom, he felt weird, an eerie presence in the home, the ironically eerily silent home. Upon stepping in, he heard the door close behind him and Daniel follow him to the bed.

He looked up, seeing Wilhelmina staring out into space, her eyes fixated on the pale surface that was the wall. She didn't speak, nor did she acknowledge his presence. He took out his black bag and set it beside her, feeling Daniel breathing hard behind him and watching his every move.

His hands moved for the materials that she had requested from him. When he spoke to her nearly half of an hour before their present meeting, her voice was a low whisper, menacing...yet broken...hallow...yet rage-filled.

He had never been intimidated by the likes of Wilhelmina Slater, not since the day he had met her. But the sight of her in such a state nearly reduced him into a blithering idiot without her having to utter a single...word.

He set the three tablets on her nightstand and stood tall, watching her. "Do you want me to call the police?" When she didn't respond, he probed for a different answer. "Will there be an examination? An ultrasound or blood test to make sure that you aren't pregnant already?"

Wilhelmina looked to her bedside and picked up all three tablets, downing them with her glass of water, glugging it all down and allowing it to wash her throat. Daniel cleared his throat, realizing that she wasn't going to respond.

"Thanks for coming...I appreciate it.." He shook the other Daniel's hand and lead him to the door without explanation. "And...if you could not mention this to Marc or Amanda...or anybody."

He shrugged, pursing his lips. "Mention what?" He reached for the door and closed it softly behind him. Daniel stood there for a second, going over what she had told him in his head...Him locking the door...Throwing her to the chaise...She hitting him with a Billy club...But he always stopped at the next part...at the next action...It made him want to do some things...Some illegal things...Some things that had a consequence that would take him away from her when she needed him the most.

Their conversation had consisted of the story told between constant sobs. He wouldn't push her to tell him more...When he came back to the bedroom, he saw the panic in her eyes after having been alone for only a couple of minutes...When he saw that look in her eyes...When he saw the independence stolen from her eyes...It made him want to shoot the man who took it...stole it from her..

As a fresh set of snowflakes fell new from the sky and decorated the sidewalk, a cool brush of air wandered in through a slightly open window. Evoking Goosebumps on any bare skin was proved difficult considering their positions. Their eyes had fallen closed just as the clock struck 5am and in that she stayed in his arms, never leaving. Her body pressed against him as tightly as could be and he held her as to never let go. Any bump in the night, he pulled her tighter. Any unfamiliar sound, she snuggled closer...

That night...he was more of a man than he had ever been. Just as the normal reaction was expected of Wilhelmina, the normal reaction was expected of him as well. As a man...It would have typically been seen fit for him to go find the bastard and beat him within an inch of his life...But...despite manhood having evolved into that stereotype...It was unfortunately false...That night...As a real man...He held his family by a thread...He kept himself together...to keep his family together...He restrained the anger he felt...He restraint his want...His need...And focused on his responsibility...If his wife wanted him to hold him all night long and into the wee hours of the morning he would do it. If she didn't want to tell him all that happened just yet, he wouldn't fuss. If she didn't want to report it...he wouldn't force her.

She opened her eyes, lifting her head from the war cry position and allowing the water from the showerhead to cascade down her face. She gasped for air, blinking endlessly as she re-experienced reality. It was all a dream….Coming out of the shower….Seeing him on the bed…Falling into his arms….Telling him everything…Calling Dr. Smith….It was all…a dream. She looked to her left and saw that his he was not near her. She shivered, her arms wrapping her body when she realized that his were not going to do so. It was all a dream...A subconscious wish...Reality wise, she hadn't told him. Reality wise. She hadn't even moved. Reality wise. She was still in the shower, her body red with pain. Reality wise. It wasn't a dream...But a nightmare.

**OoO**

When she slid back the bathroom door, he was sitting there on the bed as if he were waiting for her, just like in her dream mere minutes ago. Her hands still clutched at her towel and her hair stuck wet to her back but she didn't fall into arms, confessing the actions that had taken place. She closed her eyes briefly and walked passed him and over to the closet where she found herself a set of black La Pearla lingerie and a black robe that she tied tightly around herself.

When she walked back out she could feel his eyes boring into her back, watching her every move. His lips parted to say something and she looked up immediately, warning him with her eyes. She turned back around and fumbled with the black bag that contained her clothes for the day, tying a knot over the opening.

He touched her shoulder and she jumped back at the contact, backing away from him as if he had wronged her, attacked her, violated her space. He looked at her strangely, now highly suspicious. "Wilhelmina what is going on?"

"What are you talking about? I don't know...I don't know what your talk-" She swallowed hard, shaking her head in defiance. "-talking a-about."

"Why are so jumpy?"

"Jumpy? I'm not jumpy..Who says I'm jumpy? Why would you think that?"

"Babe...Calm down, I'm just asking...I mean I left you upstairs and you were fine, when I came back 20 minutes later you looked different and you were acting different."

"Maybe it's just you." She nodded convincingly as she discretely advanced in the direction of the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Oh to get...some coffee."

"It's nearly 3am..."

"Well I'm...thirsty..." She turned her back on him and shut the door...Ultimately shutting him out.

**OoO**

Awaking that day, he ran to the foyer when he heard her rattling. The sounds told him that she was about to leave and he wanted answers. All night he laid awake, not being able to sleep. Not being able to get her face from his dreams. Not being able to get to get La Coda from his thoughts.

When he ran in, he saw her standing at the door just about to leave. She wore a tight, fuchsia pencil skirt that tucked in a crisp white blouse, giving way to her black pumps. After putting on her black petticoat, she was ready to leave but he was now standing there, preventing any further advancement.

"Where are you going?"

"Work."

"It's 7am."

"I have a lot to do."

"You didn't sleep Wilhelmina." He retorted, worry in his voice. Sure she didn't look tired but she had drank coffee at 3, and never came back to bed. And now she was leaving for work at 7am. It didn't make sense to him but before he could process it all she had left him there, standing in his clothes. The clothes that he had never changed out of because while she sat in the kitchen, clutching a cup of Joe...He sat on their bed, waiting for her return.

**OoO**

Her knee bounced beneath the wooden table of their kitchen, like a middle console. She had never been to Marc's apartment and had never had any intention to do so...until now. She looked up when she saw the three pills being set before her just as she had in her previous dream.

"Take this one first..." Dr. Smith nudged it in her direction and she looked at it curiously.

"What is it?"

"The morning after pill...prevents pregnancy..." She glanced down at it before placing it on her tongue, and washing it down with all 8 ounces of water. He pushed two more into her view and she looked up again, prompting him to explain. "One is for HIV and the other is for any other STI/STD." Her hand moved out shakily, doing the same thing she had done before with a new glass of water, downing it all.

When she was finished, she looked up to see that Dr. Smith had taken a seat and was now staring at her. He wanted answers.

"Does Daniel know."

"Yes..." She answered lowly, avoiding his eyes.

"I'm not talking about me...I'm talking about your husband." She got quiet, closing her eyes as the feeling of an impending headache creased her forehead. She didn't want to talk about it but she had just got her best friend slash ex-assistant to get her drugs in the simplest of terms. He leaned against the chair, folding his arms as he looked at her. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

She stared back at him and he sighed, speaking again. "With the HIV preventative pill, you're probably going to feel nauseous for the next couple of days...You might feel weak...You might want to tell your husband-"

"You don't understand." she shook her head before lowering it accordingly. "I know him..."

"You know your attacker?"

"I work with him...or at least I did...I had him fired..."

"Why?"

"Because I had feelings for him...And...I let him kiss me..."

"Did Daniel-"

"Yes he knew...And if he finds out about this he is going to think that it was consensual."

"Wilhelmina..." He set his hands on the table, entangled in each other. "I've known Daniel for a couple years now and...IF you tell him that you were raped...That a man took advantage of you in your own office...he will believe you..."

"It's not that he won't believe me but...Daniel's mind...is easily construed...Yes you know Daniel but I...I _know _Daniel...He'll tell me that he believes me and he'll act like it...in his mind there will always be that doubt...that little speck of mistrust..."

"Because you kissed him before..."

She looked up, nodding softly before leaning against the backbone of the chair. As silence stirred between them, she flinched at the touch of Marc's hand gracing her shoulder.

"Good...morning." His chipper attitude quickly depleted when he turned around to see Wilhelmina's shaken appearance, hand held to her chest as she grabbed her bearings.

"I'm sorry Willie, I didn't mean to scare you."

"You know what I should be going." Wilhelmina turned around to grab her coat and Daniel got up, helping her to do so. She smiled weakly in his direction and moved to grab her purse, nearly bolting for the door. Marc turned to Dr. Smith, still in his pajamas.

"What was that?"

"She probably just had to get to the office...Busy day..." Dr. Smith nodded, getting up from the table slowly.

"No, why was she here?"

"Oh she...needed the information from her prenatal vaccines...Making sure everything is in order for them to try to conceive again..."

"Oh...that's nice...It seems like every one we know is having babies...Mandy...Maybe Willie...Beyoncé..."

"We know Beyoncé?"

He shrugged into his mug before pressing it to his lips. "I never said personally..."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina walked down the long hall to reach her office, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the door. She froze, as if glued to the floor beneath her. Employees passed her and stared, wondering the cause for the blank empty expression on her face. Noticing this, she forced herself to take small steps, to unlock and open her door...But nothing could make her step inside when she saw that obscure...red...chaise.

Her breath was caught in her throat as she gripped the outlining archway of her door. Again, she jumped when someone called her name, making her spin around suspiciously.

Claiborne took a step back, taking note in her stature. "Are you...okay?"

"Claiborne, I need you to call the guys from maintenance and have them move everything from my office to that one.." She pointed to the office beside Ana's old one.

"But Mr. Sauerberg-"

"What did I tell you on my first day here Claiborne? I don't care what that tomato faced weasel says...I can't work in this office anymore." She closed the door, attempting to get away.

"Move...everything?"

"Everything...Except...that chaise."

**OoO**

"Mandy just because you're pregnant it doesn't mean that you get to stuff your face." Marc commented as he sat on her desk outside of Daniel's office.

Amanda rolled her eyes, getting up from the chair and walking to Betty's desk. She reached down and opened one of her drawers, pulling out a frosted doughnut. "Don't be jealous Marc, it makes your ears look small.

"Mandy..." He warned

"I'm getting you one too..." She assured as Daniel walked by, briefcase in hand. Amanda jumped off of the desk, doughnut in hand as she grabbed his messages with the other.

"Uhh...you have a meeting with accounting in half an hour..."

"Do I have any messages?"

"Fabia wants you to call her back for a lunch date...The Marc Jacobs reps want to speak with you about their ad buy and Armani wants to confirm his showcase for fashion week..."

"Fashion Week was a month ago."

"It's the drunkey Armani..."

Daniel nodded. "Tell him I said sure, whatever."

Amanda took off, biting her doughnut in oblivion. Daniel looked at his old desk, seeing the stack lying there for him. "Why are you here?" Marc questioned, standing in the doorway.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...Your office is not on this floor anymore...You run Meade not Mode..."

"Well I just thought I'd pay the old place a visit..."

"Why do you and your wife keep showing up at the most awkward times?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well Wilhelmina was at my apartment this morning."

"For what?"

"Prenatal vaccines or something..."

Daniel was silent, thinking over the statement in his mind. _She isn't supposed to get those confirmed unless she suspects something..._"Oh….wow.…" He chuckled, smiling lightly.

"What?"

"How can I have been so stupid?"

"What? Did I say something smart? Are you going to give me a raise?"

"Amanda!" Daniel bellowed, opening his briefcase.

"Yes Batman?" Amanda asked as she strutted in, hand on her hip.

"Call Wilhelmina's assistant at vogue and have her clear her schedule from 4 to the end of business today."

Amanda nodded and pulled out another doughnut before exiting promptly. Marc squinted, looking at Daniel in confusion. "What just happened?"

"I just had an epiphany."

"An epiphany? Did it concern your shaving habits and the hideousness that ensues when you fail to do so?"

"No Marc...It was bigger.." He shook his head, grinning from ear-to-ear in disbelief. "Much bigger."

**OoO**

She tried to stay at work. She tried to concentrate...She tried to hold down meetings but every sound...every sudden movement...every brief contact that she encountered made her jump. Some attributed it to stress and others, sleep. With the rising nausea, pumping in her stomach culminated with her inability to sit still, she had to come home. Claiborne had informed her that she had no more meetings after 4 and by 3:45 she was on her way home, thanking whatever stupid ad buyer canceled on her because it would have been a disaster had she came anyway.

Entering the apartment, she stopped in her tracks. A churn rose through her stomach and she leaned against the archway, bracing herself for what was to come. Her mouth grew wet and her grasp on reality slowly loosened as she found herself rushing to the nearest wastebasket. She couldn't make it to the restroom and the nearest thing was the kitchen garbage.

Daniel stood at the counter, apron on and in shock of what he was witnessing. He wiped his hands on his apron and snatched it off, holding her hair as she fell to her knees, emptying the acid like bile from her stomach into the garbage that he now dreaded having to take out.

Thinking that she was done, she stood, her fist holding onto his sleeve and the other hand holding his. He looked at her and hugged her immediately, earning an ambiguous look from her as she attempted to get herself together after that vomiting session.

"You could have told me Will..." He hugged her tighter, smiling through his tone...

"Told you what?"

He pulled away as she held her flat stomach, feeling it settle beneath her touch. He smiled, giving her a look.. "About the baby..."

"What baby?" Now she was confused...She didn't know what the hell he was talking about and him babbling to her was only making things worse.

"You know...the reason why you're so cranky...and irritable...The vaccines...I mean you just threw up babe..."

Wilhelmina looked at him in disbelief before he grabbed her and pulled her into another embrace. She couldn't believe it. He thought that she was pregnant...He was misconstruing what had happened...the horrible thing that happened to her...with the freaking miracle of life.

And now she knew...She had to tell him...

But before she could, she felt her emotions give way to the impending conversation. Her cries started somber and erupted into such a roar that he pulled away, having her to look at him, having her to face him, having her to tell him...the truth.

He held her hands in his as they stood a foot apart, her face wet with tears and his, wrinkled in confusion. "Hormonal much?"

"It's not hormones!" She snatched her hands away, pacing the ground before finding a spot near a distant corner. She shook her head, wiping at her face with the palms of her hands. When she looked up he was standing even closer to her, his eyes locked with genuine concern.

She had to tell him...the truth.

"Daniel..."

_To be Continued…._

**OoO**

_Lol you guys are really weird lol. I give a chap a day early and then when I skip a day cuz of reviews you review ridiculously the next day lololololol REVIEW!_

_Oh and if there is any confusion, the part where she told him about it and dr. smith came over was a dream...the reality was that she didnt tell him and she went to dr. smith's house in case anyone missed that. And the dream began when she slipped down in the shower...just to clarify lolol dont want anyone messagin me with how confused they were lolol_

_Hope you all enjoyed =D_

_-__**NWJ**_


	13. But I Did Not Crumble Pt 2 of 2

_Low reviews plus a lot of homework equals late updates! Enjoy =D lol_

_-**R. I. P. Whitney Houston :'(**_

"Daniel..."

She had called out his name with the mind to tell him, the mind to come clean. She had called out his name with a clear intent...She knew the reason for her speaking and the importance of her making it clear to him...just what she had to tell him. She had called out his name with the mind to tell him...Yet her body had other plans.

When she opened her mouth, instead of words rising from her heart, she felt the acid burn her throat as it was exiled from her stomach, eventually her body ending in her landing at her knees once again, her left hand holding dearly to his. She was absolutely mortified, nearly terrified by the overbearing sensation that became her. She was never known to regurgitate anything but oppressed bitchiness let alone her breakfast that is if she ever ate any to begin with.

In her mortified state, the shock, the sobbing, the horror feeling... She didn't notice him holding her hair, picking her up, setting her on the bed. In her daze, awaking was a blur as her breathing varied and her fatigue set in, her mind damning Dr. Smith for being correct in his prognosis.

Still a diva, she wouldn't allow herself to go with tainted breath for the rest of the day even if it was after 6. Weakly, she made her way to the restroom to brush her teeth, rinsing and scrubbing like a mad woman. Midway the taste of the toothpaste brought dampness to her mouth that she dreadfully recognized, bring her back to her knees and the mercy of the porcelain gods, praying to Lerania, goddess of digestion.

**OoO**

When a person spends most of the night getting to know their toilet bowl, they don't usually want to talk afterwards. And as one could guess, she had yet to tell him...the truth. Between changing her clothes, brushing her teeth _again _and finding herself on her knees for the umpteenth time, over and over again, she felt justified.

Waking up the next morning brought distress to her eyes, as they felt robbed of the slumber that they so desperately craved. Had sleep truly become her, the light that shone through the curtains would not have been a problem...that is...if sleep had become her. But it hadn't. She stayed up, eyes closed to appease Daniel yet she was awake to appease...herself. She no longer found solace in sleep. She no longer found solitude in the slumber consisting of, to her, _Me, myself and I. _Sleep had become an enemy, a reminder...a constant...hell...that never ceased to burn.

After being disturbed by the light, she opened her eyes fully to find that it had dwindled away at almost demand. Craning her neck in the direction of the window, she saw a shadow, cast over the bed and looked up to see Daniel drawing the blinds, shutting the light out. "I didn't want it to wake you..." He whispered to her softly, drawing the blinds to a close.

She shut her eyes tight, now dreading the day and cursing herself beneath her breath. _He's turned into Daddy-freaking-dearest over the course of 13 hours. _With a huff she swung her legs off of the bed, feeling the brunt of her lack of sleep. Before her feet could hit the ground, she felt her hand being taken into the hand of another, catching her off-guard and ultimately startling her. She looked up at him, eyes fluttering between him and her hand. "What are you doing?"

"I'm...helping you."

"Since when do I need help getting out of bed?"

He ignored her question, taking the hand he was holding and leading her from the bedroom, through the halls and to the kitchen. "I made you breakfast..."

She shook her head, hating the smell of breakfast food fake pregnancy or not. "I don't eat breakfast..."

"But if the smell makes you sick then I'll make something else..."

"Daniel you only know how to cook two things, baked chicken and scrambled eggs..."

"Well are you nauseous?"

"No..." She lied, not wanting to lead him on.

"Well then Scrambled eggs it is..."

"Daniel wait. "She stopped him, squeezing his hand lightly signaling him to stop his stream of consciousness and just listen to her for a second. "...We need to talk."

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking ready to pounce on any one and anything that threatened harm. "One second Wills..." He reached his pocket and pulled out a vibrating phone, pressing it to his ear in a disgruntled manner."...Well can't it wait...I'm in the middle of something very important...Amanda tell them to wai-...Fine fine, give me thirty minutes..." He hung up, stuffing the electronic back to its previous resting place. "Willie I'm sorry but I have to go...Player just lost 5 advertisers and 3 more are threatening to pull out...Something about the offensive nature of their _Boobs, Boobs, Booty _issue..." He chuckled, highlighting the ridiculousness of the issue headliner yet she remained her usual serious self.

"Daniel we need to talk..."

"Are you okay?" He probed again, getting the silent response from her that he had received minutes before. Feeling the vibration in his pocket he huffed, shaking his head in disappointment. "My phone is ringing again...Dammit...Lunch...We'll have lunch." He pecked her cheek hastily, making his way out of the kitchen and running for the door.

She sighed dramatically, smelling the horrid aroma and grimacing at the idea of undoing all of this...But she had to.

She couldn't lie to him any longer, and one night was enough. One night of him dreaming, thinking, grinning like an idiot in his sleep and contemplating fatherhood with one more child when there was still just one...that should be there.

**OoO**

"I thought we fired you..." Charles Townsend looked up from the triangular conference table at the meeting that had been held by features, mysteriously missing their Editor-In-Chief. Cleaning up their papers and stuffing them into a folder became a chore when they overstayed their meeting and now found themselves standing before Rodrigo Ambrossi_._

"You did." He spoke, walking around the table to come and face them. "And I just came to thank you for the ...opportunity to work here and be a part of the Conde Nast family, even for the shortest time."

Sauerberg glanced in Townsend's direction and shook Rod's had, not being able to shield how impressed he was. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Actually yes...my...visa has expired...I am set to depart in 2 days and I did not want to do that without expressing my gratitude for the opportunities that you have given me."

"Well...-Wilhelmina..."

Rodrigo turned around wearing a smile on his face and an arch in his brow before opening his arms in Wilhelmina's direction to greet her. "Wilhelmina, I didn't know that you were here."

Wilhelmina stared at him incredulously, deciding against her radical will not to slap the crap out of him and so she spared herself the exerted energy despite the felicity the image sparked in her heart. She walked passed him, ignoring his words and feigning for those who currently mattered. "Didn't we fire him?"

"That's what I said at first but he has come just to...say goodbye I guess."

"Goodbye?"

"I am leaving for Brazil in 2 days." She stared aimlessly in his direction, awe struck. Those moments when you can't think yet your mind seems to be working a mile a minute. The words die in your throat, your words lock in your thoughts and all that spews is a soft, nearly inaudible, whisper.

"You son of a bitch..."

Rodrigo's false smile slowly faltered, being a warning to her. Sauerberg and Townsend soon fell silent, watching the awkward exchange. His eyes hardened, slowly creeping upon the evil serpent that she had unfortunately come to know.

"It has been..._a pleasure..._working with you..." Rodrigo's arms outstretched in her direction, signaling an embrace.

"That's nice..." Townsend commented, packing up his files in a folder, approaching the pair with Sauerberg behind him as they prepared to exit the conference room.

Rodrigo advanced in her direction and she felt herself being filled with fear, complying with him, compromising with her mind. Luckily her old habits won out and Rodrigo's neck was met by her manicured claws clenching at his source of oxygen and pushing him away from her at the same time, forcing him to keep his distance.

She let go and Rodrigo coughed nervously, gasping lightly for air as Sauerberg and Townsend raised their brows in confusion at the bizarre contact.

"Is there a problem?" Sauerberg questioned, watching the fire burn in Wilhelmina's stare yet, as simple as he was, deciphering it as a woman's hormones.

"No, no...Just old friends...Playing games..." He glanced at her briefly and her body took an involuntary shudder after a cold glare flashed across his eyes. He embraced her forcefully, not giving her a chance to choke him out like she wanted to and ultimately forcing her to adhere to his physical embrace.

Sauerberg and Townsend turned to leave, now conversing in their own small talk while Wilhelmina was bound beneath the hold and against the chest of the man she wished the most harm on in the world. She pushed him away, letting the embrace last no longer than 10 seconds to appease the minds of Sauerberg and Townsend. Releasing from her grip, her hands clenched at his shoulder pad, not knowing what else to hold onto as a discomfort disturbed her abdomen, catching her off guard. She snatched away from him, looking up as he stared, confused.

That was all she saw.

"Wilhelmina-"

That was all she heard. Before the world around her went dark and the sounds began to humbly recede into the background. This the twisted churn that ensued in the pit of her stomach before she found herself making contact with the floor.

That was all she felt.

**OoO**

Daniel sat down at the booth in the corner of Madison 6, setting his coat down on the chair that held him before taking a look at the menu before him. Flipping through it endlessly, he was greeted by numerous waiters to whom he declined, saying that he was waiting for someone. Time grew wide and he glanced at his clock, the time having to be 30 minutes late because she was 30 minutes late...And she was never late. _And why the hell is everyone staring at me? Eat your steak not my face...geesh...Socialites...Where the hell is Wilhelmina? Did she not hear me when I said that we would do lunch...Maybe she forgot...Yea ma-_

"Mr. Meade." A red haired fellow called out to him, holding a notepad expectantly for his order.

"I'm sorry; I told the other servers that I was waiting for someone."

"I know but we're approaching the lunch rush and we're expecting a crowd."

"Are trying to ask me to give up my table?" The young garcon nodded adherently, hoping to find compliance in the customer. Daniel shook his head, pulling out his phone. "Well I am expecting my wife and she is on her way...she'll be here any minute."

"Your wife?"

"Yes, why do you look so surprised?"

The waiter turned around and pointed at flat screen hat was mounted to the wall, with Fashion Buzz TV playing and Suzuki doing all the talking. Daniel listened carefully, tuning in his ear and tuning out the red haired server. Without warning, he flew from his seat, vacating it voluntarily before he bustled out of the restaurant, giving them the table that they had been asking for...And something that he had never asked for.

**OoO**

Silence. Blackout, calm, censorship, dead air, death, dumbness, hush, hush-hush, inarticulateness, iron curtain, laconism, lull, muteness, absence... of sound. Silence. What avoids the wide halls of labor/delivery yet finds its way easily to the mortuary. Silence. What hides from the neonatal unit yet turns up at the ICU like a second home. Silence...found its way...into the waiting room of New York-Presbyterian University Hospital...Silence...entered them and constricted their voice box's to a mute standard. Mode's originals...Marc...Amanda...Betty...allowed silence to invade them. Why they came? Despite their feelings for Wilhelmina...they couldn't deny that they had been where many hadn't been...seen what many hadn't seen...experienced what few...would have the opportunity to. They had talked to her...Seen her in the barest of states...Heard her candid conversations and seen...Just who she really was, some longer than others...Why did they come? Because no matter how she would twist it...she had become a friend. Marc adored her, Amanda thought that she was funny as hell and Betty...tolerated her. But regardless, she had become a friend.

"No one called me!" Silence ran away as Daniel Meade came barreling angrily down the hall, not running but powerwalking...Not mad...but fuming.

"Daniel, Daniel just calm do-" Betty got up, stopping him from charging the rest of the room.

"How the hell do you expect me to calm down Betty? No one called me and I was sitting at a restaurant, waiting for her to show up...Waiting...A fucking waiter told me that my wife was in the hospital Betty! A goddamn waiter!" He looked to Amanda over Betty's shoulders.

"Daniel, I didn't know that the lunch was with Wilhelmina...You said a very important person! I didn't tell you because you had the meeting!"

"It wasn't a meeting Amanda! I was having a lunch with my wife! You should have told me and let me decide if I want to sit in front of a stiff necked ad buyer rather than my wife's bedside!"

"Daniel I'm sorry I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" He threw up his hand and worked his way forcibly out of Betty's grip, leaving the emergency room and finding the front desk to learn Wilhelmina's room number and situation.

After locating such, he took a moment to calm down...gather his thought...and make sure he didn't take any of his residual anger in there with her. It was like she was always in the damn hospital...And for the craziest things...Heart attack...Heart surgery...Heart stints...He gulped at the prospect of the next possible thing.

He entered her room slowly, peeking passed the giant white wall to actually see her face...but not exactly her face...Her hands that covered her face as she took a shaky breath, exhaling what she expected to be a cry but turned out to just be another shaky breath.

Feeling the invasion of her personal space, she looked up as he closed the door softly behind him, still in his coat and scarf like a typical New Yorker.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, no one has come to talk to me, no one has told me anything...I just woke up to this-" She pointed to the cardiac monitor. "And this." and she pointed to the fetal monitor, her current state distressed. "And I don't get that because I'm not even pregnant-"

Daniel looked up immediately, his guard caught down and his thoughts now fluctuate around the bowl of his head as he had one final question. "What?"

Her eyes widened upon her realization of the words that stumbled from her mouth and she came to the conclusion that the time had come. She had to tell him...the truth.

**OoO**

He took a moment...to gather his thoughts...To attempt a calm behavior but found it nearly impossible with the information that he was given...With the truth he was told...

"Say something..." She whispered lightly, feeling his hand slip out of hers as he retreated to the back wall of her bed, catching himself. Still taking a moment as he allowed his head to rest against the hard exterior of the wood panels wall.

"The bastard..." He mumbled, folding his arms over his chest as if to restrain himself, to keep himself from flying out the door and kicking whoever was in a 10 mile radius.

"You bitch-" Wilhelmina's eyes widened with a rusted horror as Rodrigo stopped in his tracks, seeing Daniel...Seeing Daniel's eyes...Seeing Daniel's fists...

"Daniel don't-Daniel-" Wilhelmina hastily grabbed at the nurses' button, holding it down as she watched Rodrigo Ambrossi's head get bashed into the wall behind him, repeatedly, the white of his eyes being the pale distribution to his complexion. Being push back by Dr. Smith, in street clothes, Daniel backed up watching as Rodrigo, surprisingly still conscious, rose from his slumped state, grabbing his bearings.

"Daniel calm down..." Dr. Smith warned, his eyes wavering in Wilhelmina's direction, her anxiety rising to the pink of her cheeks as she attempted to calm down from all of the excitement.

"I want him arrested! Call the fucking cops- Call them-"

"Daniel-"

"Call them-"

"Daniel we can't do that!" Dr. Smith exclaimed in a whisper, eyes scrunched. "We can't do that..."

"What the hell do you mean, we can't do that? You know what he did and he is just-" Seeing him still in the room, Daniel reached past Dr. Smith, still wanting a piece of him.

"Daniel stop!" Dr. Smith pushed him back as Rod escaped by the skin of his teeth, Daniel's hand barely gracing his greased _La Coda _skin. "Listen to me...You cannot tell anyone...Do you understand me?"

"And why is that?"

"Is everything alright in here?" A young, blonde walked in. Wilhelmina rolled her eyes, feeling as if she just saw Nico trying on her pumps at the age of 5. She hated young doctors...And this one...was just...Daniel's type.

"You're the doctor..." Wilhelmina quipped as she made her way passed Dr. Smith and Daniel.

"My name is Dr. Spears...But you can call me Britney..."

"You have got to be kidding me..." Wilhelmina scoffed, mumbling under her breath as Daniel and Dr. Smith exchanged heated glances.

"I'm sorry this is a...private room...Who ar-"

"I'm her GP..." Dr. Smith spoke up first, arms crossed.

"And I'm her husband..." Daniel added begrudgingly, not in the mood.

"Oh...well in that case, then I can tell you that when running the usual tests to make sure that everything was A-Okay and...We detected a powerful emergency contraceptive in your system..."

"Is...That a problem?"

"Well..." Dr. Spears moved to the other side of the bed and adjusted the fetal monitor, pointing to the outer ring of an encircled area. "That right there...Is the uterine wall and that..." She pointed to a small round, nail head looking thing, nestled within the uterine wall. "...that...is now fighting for his/her home because contraceptives such as the one you obviously took are thinning the lining of your uterus, making it harder for you to avoid miscarriage at this stage...Now, once you are already pregnant contraceptives are not abortion pills-"

"Wait a minute, are you suggesting that I would _intentionally _hurt my child?"

"Well why else would you have taken them?"

Wilhelmina fell quiet for a moment before speaking again, not allowing the blonde Molly looking thing to silence her. "Wait...a minute why does this matter, I'm not pregnant..."

"Yes...Yes you are...The small dot there...that's a baby...I wasn't being hypothetical before, he or she is literally struggling to survive in his or her current conditions."

"You make my womb sound like a Best Western."

"Can we...have a minute?" Daniel questioned, in which she quickly agreed, eyeing Dr. Smith suspiciously. And as soon as the door swung close, his focus switched to Dr. Smith in defense mode. "What the hell did you do?"

"I was helping her!"

"You didn't check to see if she was pregnant first? What kind of doctor are you?"

"The kind that makes house calls at all hours of the night and provided your wife, illegally with substances that are for reported rape cases only...I didn't do an ultrasound because her history shows that it is practically impossible for her to bear a child without the help of medicine!...And if you call the cops on Rodrigo Ambrossi...They'll find out about the medication...And I'll lose my license...You can't say anything."

"He-H-He YOU KNOW WHAT He DID!"

"Daniel, this is a lose-lose situation..."

"I don't care-"

"Daniel..." She called out to him in a fallen whisper, shaking her head lightly. "...please..."

"Wilhelmina he deserves to be put away...castrated...decapitated-"

"He's leaving for Brazil in two days...If you bring attention to this...The media will be all over it and all that will be done is his case will be taken to Brazil...And then I'll have to deal with the press." She stated numbly, looking him dead in the eyes, guarded.

"The press...Wilhelmina, the press is what you're concerned about?" He approached her slowly, coming closer to her bed as he came closer to his boiling point.

"It is...a major factor, Daniel." She replied monotonous. Concerned about one thing, seemingly unaffected.

"How could you be sooo, so-What the hell Willie?" He seemed floored. Floored by her behavior. The man was a rapist...a monster...a sadistic predator...And she refused to press charges against him. He doubled back, taking a look at her, her face, her eyes, the depths of blue that seemed to entrance anyone who dared to lock their own with hers. And he did dare, not surprised when he no longer saw her softer side...But the guarded woman that he had long run from and avoided. He saw the woman the shut him out and cursed him out all at the same time...She didn't look like the woman he knew...and it scared him.

"I need some air..." He snatched up his coat and hit the door, allowing it to slam behind him as he left, leaving Wilhelmina and Dr. Smith to stare at the walls, or each other.

"Daniel..." Dr. Smith turned around, startled and surprised by what she had called him since she had never referred to him his first name. "I am...sorry...to put you through this." She stated, her lips pursed and voice, utterly emotionless.

Dr. Smith nodded regretfully, sticking his hands in his pockets as he headed in the trail that the other Daniel had furiously left moments before. He looked back once again, seeing her massage the base of her temples, obviously stressed. "Wilhelmina..." She turned her head in his direction, not wanting to be bothered; Dr. Smith took a deep breath, opening his mouth to speak before he vacated the room as well. "...Don't shut him out."

**OoO**

"Are you going to tell me why you're here or do I have to watch you tie and untie Izak's shoe for the next twenty minutes...Again." Claire questioned, sitting on the couch parallel to her son, his eyes looking up briefly to face hers yet returning just as quickly to that of Izak's laces as he lay out on the couch, asleep with his feet in Daniel's lap. He was silent, not responding to her inevitable montage. "Daniel I pray you didn't come here just to find someone to take your side because you are still under the impression that I hate your wife and would do nothing if not to see her drown in a mat of spitfire." He glanced up at her and she shrugged, recanting her statement. "Yes, at times the prospect brings joy to my heart but if you two had a little spat and you're wrong I hope you don't expect me to take a side."

"Do you even know what's going on?" He asked, noting the vagueness in her questioning and calm tone of voice.

"Why would I?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No, Izak and I have been playing in the snow, sitting in front of the fire...playing with blocks...really bond-" She stated, a smile broadening on her face as she was filled with a feeling of warmth, the short time spent being enough to take away the lonely pangs just for a little while.

"You haven't been to Mode?"

"Well if you had let me finish than I would have had the chance to tell you that I stayed home today." Now she was snappy, a little ticked that he was being so short with her considering she didn't even know what he was hinting at.

"You stayed home? Mom, you run Hot flash and Mode, you can't stay home."

"You stay home all the time and I am 65 years old." She shrugged, crossing her legs as she settled back into her couch. "I should be retired anyway."

"Mom Wilhelmina is in the hospital."

"Since when?"

"This morning."

"She is always in the hospital."

"Well you know that she has...cardiac issues."

"Yes I am aware...Is that why she is there...cardiac issues?"

"Yup..." He nodded convincingly, Claire knowing that he was lying as his eyes wandered and bottom lip was pulled into his mouth discretely.

"Then why are you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...Wilhelmina is in the hospital...Why aren't you with her?"

"I came to get Izak."

"You two didn't have a fight, did you?"

"Well we did but I still had to come and get him..."

"So you're not going to ask me to pick sides like you always do."

"I never ask-"

"You imply."

"Mom-"

"My show is coming on in ten minutes Daniel, is this going to be a while?"

"Mom...really?" He asked, chuckling at her seriousness.

"Well Izak and I both were going to watch it but since you insist on taking him..."

"You don't mind keeping him while Wilhelmina is in the hospital?"

Claire got up silently from her place across from him and proceeded to unzip Izak's coat, removing his shoes afterwards. Daniel followed suit, taking note and getting up to allow her and him to watch _their show. _Getting up, he leaned over to kiss her cheek, touching her back briefly as he went for his coat. "Thanks Mom...I owe you..."

She looked up, picking a sleepy Izak up onto her hip. "You don't owe me anything. He's my grandson..." She patted his shoulder softly and left him to himself, taking Izak up for their TV session while Daniel let himself out.

But instead of leaving, he stood there...Thinking...Contemplating...Putting it together...And he ran with it.

**OoO**

His body seemed to float through the door, letting the metal meet its match loudly behind him, disturbing the nurses and doctors that worked around the bed. A nurse spun around and immediately began to usher him out of the room, but to no avail. His neck craned around the nurse's shoulder and his heart sunk to his shoes as he watched the extended hands of a white coat physician pound repeatedly on what he could only decipher as her chest, the difficulty ensuing from the crowding around her.

"Wha-What happened?" He spoke breathlessly, being pushed out into the hallway and utterly too stunned to put up a decent fight.

"She went into cardiac arrest...Sir I am going to have to ask you to stay outside." She left him, returning quickly to the inside of the room that he was now forbidden from entering.

His stumbling footsteps lead him to a hard wall, cold and unfriendly as he attempted to process the happenings in his mind. But the small opening of his mouth, lethal rage in his heart and numb dexterity left him to do nothing more than barely stand...Cardiac arrest...in her state...with her history...was just a tuned up way of saying death...death.

Just as it began to seep in, he felt a hand slap his back, squeezing at his shoulder lightly as they passed, holding onto him as if to take him with them. He looked up, eyes wet and moist, startling his visitor.

"Daniel?" Dr. Smith questioned, not knowing why he was in such a form.

"Why didn't you call me?" he whispered angrily, feeling his insides constrict apoplectically.

"About what?"

"Wilhelmina!"

"Why would I call you because she changed rooms?"

Hearing the words escape his semi-close friend, the premature tears in his eyes veered back as he looked back at the door, realizing that he had never seen her face. "She…She changed rooms?"

"Yeah...I took her off of the Cardiac floor and put her in the Obstetric ward so that she can have some tests done..." He answered slowly, glancing back at the door briefly before returning his attention to Daniel, piecing it together. "Did you think-"

"Just tell me where she is now."

**OoO**

This time, creeping passed the metal door was like a mission. Quietly he slipped through the door, closing it softly behind him as to not disturb the white coat he saw this time. She didn't see him, her head turned the other way as she laid slightly elevated in the bed, in stirrups that she detested and a position of immobility for her examination. Laying there, an arm draped around her abdomen as she endured the uncomfortable and at times painful procedure that left her silent, she was rather startled when she felt a warm presence cup her hand.

She turned her head slowly and opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head, speaking first. "You're my wife...You owe me nothing but your love...Everything else should fall into place with that...And I...I'm your husband...I owe you my love...Everything else...falls into place after that..."

"Tomorrow I am blocking daytime TV on your office television…." She smiled half-heartedly before continuing. "What are you getting at?" She questioned softly, holding tightly to his hands as she felt a quickening in her system.

"I'm not _getting _at anything...I'm stating a fact...We need to talk...I mean we really need to talk...But that doesn't stop me from being here for you...Going through this with you..."

"Rodrigo Ambrossi is talking about pressing charges against you..." She blurted out in a whisper. He shrugged, allowing her to grip at his hand as the comfort level fluxuated as the time passed.

"Take your mind off of it." He suggested, sitting as close as his chair would let him to her bed.

She sighed, rubbing at her eyes momentarily. "I look a mess...

"Something else..."

"So you agree?" She asked, a lifted brow, her head turned on her pillow in his direction. He chuckled lightly, offering her a missed smile. Yawning lightly, she looked to the ceiling. "I haven't eaten all day...

"Do you want to...?"

"Not really...I probably wouldn't be able to keep it down anyway..."

"Well at least tomorrow I get to take you home..."

"After all of this poking...and prodding and...questioning...I'm-"

"Exhausted? It's been that kind of day..."

"It has...It really has..."

**OoO**

After a night of awkward exchanges, limited affection and turbulent tension, they had ignored the elephant in the room, both shutting each other out. Sure he stayed the night with her...but there was still a distance. Instead of climbing onto the bed with her like he had always done, he opted for the couch on the back wall...They put on a false smile and braved their interactions yet ignoring the gnawing conversations that they secretly yearned to hold.

A good report from Dr. Spears and Smith was all that they needed to return home, still cautious but no longer worried. The condition that they were anticipating began to turn around with help of steroids and rest, ironically a combo that didn't work for many people. After returning home, she instantly retired to their bedroom for a nap that seemed to last for days yet was only an hour. Waking up, a distinct aroma found her olfactory system, bringing her out of her sleep. She opened her eyes slowly and found a pair of eyes staring back at her. Avoiding them, her attention diverted to that of the plate that sat beside her.

"It really is the only thing that you can make." her voice came as a calm whisper, tired yet seemingly ready for something, prepared for...something.

He looked to the end table beside them and removed the silver bell covering from the plate to reveal what is usually the most un-appetizing combination. "How'd you know?" He questioned, confused as to why she could smell passed the metal covering.

"Your sense of smell is supposed to increase..."

"So you've been pregnant for a day and you already have super powers?" A smile graced both of their faces as the ice broke between them, slowly but surely. "I was going to get you something from Chateau but I couldn't get out of the house.

"What do you mean?"

"The press has the building surrounded...front to back."

"For?"

He was silent before reaching over and placing a stray curl black in place with her messy up-do, culminated with her turquoise caftan, gold lining on the ends. "Did you notice him?" He changed the subject, flipping back the covers on the side of her to reveal a sleeping Izak, huddled into a ball as he slept.

"No...He must've snuck in here-"

"He threatened to get Santa Claus to come and beat me…literally beat me…if I didn't open the door." He cut her off, offering the simple truth.

"Daniel..." She called out. "Answer my question."

"You answer mine first." He ordered, lifting his eyes to her and for the first time she could stare at them. She could look at his eyes and not feel the urge to tear away from his gaze. She nodded and he sat down on the bed, his knee coming up higher than the other. He sighed, bringing the covers up closer on her body as he spoke. "Why didn't you trust me enough?"

"Trust you enough?"

"Trust me enough to tell me...What happened to you-"

"Daniel it wasn't a matter of trust-"

"Well obviously it was because you told Dr. Smith...Who you have known for what-4 years now?"

"Because..." Her voice trailed into the distance as her gaze found solace in avoiding the presence of any peers.

His eyes had found hers and locked with intent onto them, refusing to move. He felt her squirm beneath the covers, growing uncomfortable as the impending truth threatened to penetrate the air. He wanted to know the truth...to know why...But not for satisfaction...but because he wasn't...there. His wife...his other half...the person he claims to love the most was...sexually...assaulted...and he wasn't there for her. He wasn't there for her even though he promised to protect her. And afterwards she hid it from him. He still wasn't there. He wasn't there when she was needed him the most. And this… this was now tearing them apart. They were becoming like strangers to each other, going back in time to their olden days of bickering and empty stares...And that...that alone tore him up.

"I knew that...I knew that I had been taking those hormone shots...I knew that everything was set up for us to have another child and the fact that he chose that very moment...to...do...what he did...Scared me…Because I don't want to have his child." She swallowed hard, unbeknownst to her, allowing her hand to rise to her stomach, covering it protectively. She allowed her mind a lonely trip down a bleak memory lane, traveling to a place that she had locked away and stored in a box, never to be seen again...or so she hoped. "I... I didn't tell you because… then it would make it more real...I would be forced to remember and Daniel when things happen that I don't like, I either blackmail or act like it never happened...And if I told you...I wouldn't...be able to do that..." She closed her eyes, shutting them tight as her face fell to that of her hands, her fingers twiddling aimlessly. "I screamed..." She stated, looking up at him momentarily, eyes red and breath staggered. "Daniel, I screamed. I screamed your name over and over again. But you...you never came. And I begged him to let me go. But that just seemed to push him even further. And in one moment I felt like the world stopped moving. ..." She looked up again, a glossy look in her eyes as she tried to convey the feeling that she felt, the emptiness that consumed her. "Everything was in slow motion. All I saw was him hovering above me and I lost my voice. I wanted to scream but all I did was see...him." She stopped, feeling a churn in her stomach as the thought of his body pressed up against hers once again sickened her to the very core of her being... Her fists found comfort in binding at the sheets, clenching tightly to avoid breaking her own skin as the memory coming forth nearly shook her down to the stripped being that she swore to never become again. "His weight...held me down. I used all my power to get away from him but he was stronger and pinned me to the chaise, and…" She didn't know if she should continue or not. Daniel already knew what came next. Was it really necessary to say it out loud? Feeling his hand upon hers she looked at him and saw him shaking his head lightly letting her know that she didn't have to continue. Closing her eyes for a second still not believing what came next. "He took away all my control. All of my life I have had control. Control over everything. And he took it away. Just like that leaving me with nothing. I remember laying there, no thoughts, not even a sound while he kept using my body like it was nothing. I couldn't stand his touch...It made me want to..." She mumbled incoherently, not allowing him to hear her sadistic thoughts. "And I couldn't do a damn thing. That bastard raped me..." her voice came with a vengeance, her knuckles turning white as a rage filled her and her teeth tried their best not to grind against each other. "And all I did...was lie there..." She was about to cry. She wanted to cry. The tears were there. They were ready. She was about to cry...and if she continued she would do just that. But she wouldn't cry. She could not cry. Not for him. Not for that fucking monster. She refused to give him...the satisfaction...He told her that he wanted to break her...He told her that she would scream his name and she didn't...so if he wanted to break her he would have to try a lot harder because she...refused...to appease his sick appetite.

As she felt her emotions beginning to approach once again, he pulled her into an embrace that seemed to release the rage she felt and replace it with a feeling of safety She rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes tight so that her tears had no success to the outside world. She needed him. She needed to know that she hadn't lost her husband. That he still loved her. After all that had transpired...She needed to know that he didn't love her any less. That he wasn't disgusted by the sight of her. That the idea of her and another man hadn't made him sick of her. She needed to know.

"I...am so sorry Will..." Daniel whispered lightly all the while tightening his grip on her as if she would go away if he as much as thought to loosen it a bit. "Tell me what I can do...Anything...

She rose to meet his eyes, feeling the barriers breaking and her body succumbing to the tears that threatened. She let out a light gasp and the tears spilled, shaking her head lightly..."Help me erase what happened. Please..." She pleaded between gasped sobs. "Just make me forget." Burying her face in his shirt, she cried out no longer being able to contain herself. Waves of tears falling from her eyes soaking the fabric as her body shook in reaction to the violent sobs that coursed through her.

Just like in her dream, like a child, she was cradled in his arms as her mouth opened against his chest, releasing a bout of sobs that shook her body, a thundering cry, an impulse that could have made the sky begin to shed tears of rain, the trees shed the leaves and the light...make way for the darkness. Only this time, she couldn't pinch herself and wake up...She was up...And reality was taking place. She couldn't change anything that had happened nor could she alter the past...The only thing that she could do...was allow him...in that instance...to get to know her...To see her raw...untouched...flaw-filled...To see her broken...She was not put together...she felt wronged...

Why?

That is the question that she asked. Why? That is what she wondered. Why? That was what she wanted to know. She wished to stand in front of God. She wanted to stand in front of God the father...And ask him why...She wanted to boldly question his decisions and bellow to his ears...Why? Why her? Why did she have to go through it? Why did she have to be the one that everything happened to? Why did she have to be the one that suffered? She wanted to cry out, why her? And the answer that he would give her would be as simple as an angel could muster. His words would linger around the atmosphere and tickle her ears, as solid as a rock yet as soft as a feather. When she asked him why me? He would respond: _Why not you?_ Why can't you go through? Can you not go through? Are you not strong enough? Can you not handle it? Are you weak? Have you not the ability to let no man take your strength away...You want to know why you...I say..._Why not you?_

**OoO**

_Anyone still reading this?_


	14. SEASON FINALE : The Ticking Clock

As a clock makes its rounds, hitting each number shortly, jagged movements from interval to interval each movement is precise in structure and each movement, deliberate and intense. As time passed the attention paid becomes null and void and people move on, they pay it no mind. The clock continues to strike, not caring about what you have to do at the end of the day, that morning, at 1 o'clock, that night...ultimately...Time is the Genghis Khan of life...It surpasses all and controls all...It is indifferent to social obligations or previous plans. It does not care what your check book says or about the balance in your bank. When the clock is ready to continue...When time is ready to go on... a jagged movement is what happens...from interval...to interval.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. He looked up at the clock and wished for it to go by slower, to stop...to cease movement. He wanted to extend the moment to its full capacity. He wanted it to last until the end of time. He held her close to him and she allowed it without a care in the world. For hours they stayed like that, not caring about the clock or the time that passed because too much time had passed where they hadn't held each other...where they hadn't told each other that they love them...Where they hadn't allowed themselves to lie silently, allowing their even breathing, shared glances and brief contact to speak for them...Too much time had gone by.

He would have held her until the cows came home, a pig flew, a fat lady sung or any other Western reference that he could think of at the moment, all he knew...Was that his arms had missed her...This contact...this vulnerability that she allowed...this presence that filled the room. The essence of her being with him had created an atmosphere. An atmosphere that was soon pierced by an unsolicited visitor.

"What the hell did you do!" Marc screeched as he entered their bedroom without even knocking. He stopped midway, seeing them both under the covers, Wilhelmina's head resting comfortably on the chest of her husband as he sat up, arm wrapped around her shoulder as she sniffled, drying her red wet eyes. He was indeed uncomfortable but he had come for a specific reason and sought to complete the purpose. He wanted to do something and he wanted answers...And by God….He was going to get them. "I need to talk to you."

"She is not seeing anyone right now. Daniel spoke for his wife, taking in the blank expression that wore her face. Marc nodded, folding his arms over his flat chest.

"I'm not talking about Wilhelmina. You...I need to talk to you."

Daniel cocked his head slightly, thinking about the statement as his body moved ahead of his mind and proceeded to shift from the bed. Wilhelmina slid up slowly, sniffling again as she pressed a Kleenex to her red nose, eyeing Marc silently as he followed Daniel's lead out to the hallway and eventually the living room that was brightened heavily by the indirect lighting of the sun through the large hexagonal windows.

"What is it Marc?" Daniel asked softly, only wanting to get back to the room and for their little meeting to be officially over.

Before Marc could speak, his hand rose to the cheek of his superior boss, striking him across the plum of his cheek. Shock ensued as Daniel looked back up, not willing to touch his face as he normally would. This was another man, not a woman. His body refused to react and give him to satisfaction of his intention..."What the hell Marc?"

"He trusted you! He helped you, whatever you two needed, he was there!" Marc exclaimed eyes wide and hands moving as he spoke as if to animate the words that spilled from his mouth.

"He?" Daniel requested in startled tones, still in shock over the fact that young assistant had just struck him across the face.

"Daniel..."

"What?" He screeched, oblivious to why his name was being called out as if he wasn't listening when his ears for litigiously open after that unexpected strike.

"No not you!" Marc corrected rolling his eyes. "My Daniel you nit-wit...He trusted you and you betrayed him...both of you."

"Marc what the hell are you talking about?"

"He got a letter in the mail this morning saying that he had to appear in court as a material witness to sexual assault or harassment-whatever case."

"We didn't file any case papers Marc." He told him, now confused. "Do you have the letter on you?"

He reached into the breast pocket of his cast and lifted out a white folded paper that was soon in between the sensors of Daniel's fingers as he carefully unfolded it, reading it curiously. Slowly he looked up and Marc's brows rose with obvious intent.

"Are you illiterate?" Daniel yelled, now getting angry.

"Excuse me?"

"This paper isn't from us suing Rodrigo Ambrossi...It's from Rodrigo Ambrossi...Suing Wilhelmina." His voice slowed and tone lowed as he read the rest. "...for sexual harassment."

"How did he know that Daniel was involved?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You do know!"

"No Marc, I don't! And before you forget, I am still your boss!"

"This isn't Mode Daniel, this is real life...This is Daniel's career. I swear to God if he loses his license-"

"His license? Wilhelmina was raped-"

"Look Daniel." Marc ceased his words. "I have put Wilhelmina before my relationships too many times before...With Cliff...With-"

"I don't care! HE is suing HER when HE raped HER!"

"And Daniel's name needs to be kept out of this..."

"Aren't you the least bit concerned about Wilhelmina?"

"Of course I'm concerned about Wilhelmina Daniel, who the hell do you take me for? I have priorities too...I have a life...And if Daniel is put on the stand and he tells them what he did for Willie...It will ruin everything."

"If this case goes to trial...It will ruin everything..."

"Have you told Wilhelmina yet?"

"How could I, I just found out."

"Don't lie Daniel...Why would they serve us before Wilhelmina?"

Daniel looked up silently, now knowing what was coming next. "I will tell her when she is ready to decide-"

"Who are you to decide Daniel?"

"Her fucking husband Marc! And your goddamn boss so watch it."

"Me? You just stepped in the picture 4 years ago, I have been here for ten…."

"Says the man wearing clear nail polish."

Marc shrugged, stuffing the paper back into his pocket before physically washing his hands against each other as if to signal the finality of the argument. "I quit."

"Excuse me?"

"You didn't respect Wilhelmina and you don't respect me!"

"Bullshit Marc, Don't even try I-"

Before he could finish his two-letter word he found himself faced with Marc's hand as he left and switched to the focus of his back. The door slammed behind him and the walls riveted in his head. Numbly he stood there, contemplating his next move. The walls seemed to close in steadily and the anticipation grew thick. If he saw her again, he would be tempted to tell her but he knew that she couldn't take it. Just not yet...He needed to think... He jogged back to the bedroom to hear the shower running and grabbed the notepad at the desk, scribbling a short message before snatching up his keys and snatching up his release...Because he need to think...OR plan...OR scheme...Whatever it was...It couldn't wait.

**OoO**

Around the rim it went, spinning until it met the inevitable coolness of the pavement. He bent his knees, eyeing the orange center of his attention, squinting lightly before his wrists flicked snippily and around the rim it went...spinning until it met the inevitable coolness of the pavement. He was going to try again...maybe he was off balance...wasn't concentrating...distracted...he didn't bend his knees low enough, flick his wrists with enough snip...He didn't do it right...He wasn't handling it like he should...Was it still basketball? Or was he thinking about something else.

"Try shooting gently..."

He spun around, holding the orange Spalding to his chest, breathing heavily in the cold November air, his breath making a train before him before simmering into invisibility. His hands ejected the ball from his grasp and allowed itself to land in the hands of another. His eyes shot up as it flew through the air and the rippling sound of it greeting the ragged rope, stiff with a chill yet wet with contrast. His eyes traveled back from the rebound and found the face of his visitor and the Spalding yet again in his grasps.

"Who sent you?"

"No one...I actually come out here all the time...Escape Mandy." he offered a sheepish smile that wasn't returned, rendering his vanquished.

"How do you get in?"

"Her key?"

"Why are you here?"

"Why are _you_ here?"

"This is my house." Daniel blurted obviously, diluted venom in his tone.

"You don't live here anymore."

"Do too...They just finished and we are moving back soon..."

Tyler shifted, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he crunched his neck beneath the stem of his jacket, remaining cold as coolness swept passed. "I saw the news this morning." He commented in a numbed voice before finding the ball being with him after Daniel checked it to him.

"Who didn't?" He questioned as the ball swished through the circular goal, the sound highlighting a thinning victory that annoyed him in comparison to the booming reflection of sound that simulated from his multiple rebounds.

"How is she dealing with it?"

"She isn't." Tyler stood blankly, looking for more until Daniel spoke again. "I didn't tell her."

"How does-"

"I disconnected the phones, canceled the cable and shut off the internet, put a lock on her phone-"

"All so she wouldn't find out that she is being sued?"

"She is sick Tyler...She doesn't need this right now."

"She might not need it but she's got it..."

"Since when have you become so-?"

"Insightful? Modeling is quite 3-Dimensional you know..."

"I was actually going to say annoying..." Daniel added lightly, looking away. His head lifted and his eyes met his half-brother's, dragging a humble smile from the anchor of his mask.

"Well what do you want me to be? I'm tired, I'm cranky, I'm irritable-"

"Are you pregnant?"

Tyler scoffed and launched the ball in his direction, aiming for his egghead which Daniel's promptly ducked making his exert of energy an invent in vain as he rolled his eyes. "I might as well be! I get no sleep, I don't eat because she eats everything that I buy and if I even look like I want to complain she bawls her eyes out and makes me feel like the devil!"

"For the next 6 or 7 months...That's exactly who you'll be." He added with the same sly smile. A thought scurried across his scattered thoughts, greeting them briefly with an idea. He realized that he had no reason to fear...No reason to worry. They had built a relationship...A strong one...on a stone foundation...They had a child...And were expecting again...They had jobs, they were set financially and most of all...They loved each other. He realized that he had no reason to fear...to be afraid.

**OoO**

Preparation swarmed his heart. Preparation for a battle...Preparation for protection...for war. He expected her to be in bed when he walked through the door. He expected to come in to an empty living room, empty dining room. He didn't expect to see Charles Townsend and Robert Sauerberg sitting across from his wife at a foodless table. Their expression were somber. Their expressions were grim. Their expressions were furious.

He watched as she stood from the table and grabbed a pen, signing her name quickly. Her eyes crossed his several times yet they never dared to lock, to become obvious. Her glare avoided his, detested his. His feet never moved, glued to the hardwood floors as Townsend and Sauerberg passed him inevitably in their exit. A blush of red flushed their faces, and he knew it wasn't from the cold nor Rosatia...They knew.

Slowly his jacket slid down the tunnel of his arms and was placed on the coat hanger with his hat and scarf. His feet shuffled against the surface that was the floor, at the time, feeling like wet cement that seemed to suck him beneath its surface as he approached the kitchen.

She had risen from the table and found herself at the counter, making busy to keep herself from screaming. Feeling his presence beside her, she opened her mouth to speak but her words fell cadaverous back down her throat. She swallowed hard, reaching for a jar to pour the contents into a smaller bowl. With a light sigh she spoke, eyes tired and body weary. She had planned on sleeping in that day yet unfortunately life had other plans. Life had other blueprints...She learned the hard way that life...had a mind of its own.

"I got out of the shower...And I saw your note...After I got dressed Izak woke up...I was feeding him when the doorbell rang..." She spoke lowly, eyes fixated on the apple green bowl. "They _released _me from my Editorial Duties-" His hand touched her back and her shoulder jerked forward like second nature, refusing is touch. "The reason being...my partake in an act that could potentially be harmful to the Conde Nast name...When I asked...Just what that act was I was told...That I had allegedly harassed one of my employers...I laughed...until I found out who they were talking about."

"I was protecting you."

She looked into his eyes nearly immediately, standing to face her. His eyes traveled the expanse of her body and in his gaze, she looked flawless. She wore an emerald green, mid-length dress that flowed beneath the dividend of her bosom. The neck dipped into a modest yet sexy V and the ballooned sleeves were tamed by a bishop cuff. Her hair was straight, the only curl being the automatic that came from sitting on her shoulders, cupping but not smothering her face. The details, the observations...They swarmed his mind and his eyes filled with a soft sentiment as she stared back at him watching his eyes and their movements. His stare landed on her midsection and he knew that she was only 6 weeks but his imagination ran with the small idea, developing it into his future child. The defeat he felt. The brief sadness upon hearing the news...It was gone...Just by drinking up the moment between them.

"Why are you smiling?" Her tone was annoyed, soft yet still annoyed at his smirking expression as if what they had on their hands was not serious, as if she were overreacting.

His body neared hers and the tips of his fingers made their way to the small of her back, bringing her to him slowly without objection for her. Her fists fell to balls against his chest as his kiss lifted her head to his, her toes inclining to meet his high standards. Their brief contact, ended. Their unexpected contact, ceased. She pulled away, his hand still holding her to him. Before the words could form in her head and become sound through her mouth, he spoke...he formed his words first...he made the sound.

"Don't worry."

"Daniel this is serious..."

"Willie he has no proof...He can't sue you for something that isn't true and that has no premise...He is just trying to get to you."

A glassy glaze haunted her eyes and he realized this as his reflection became present in the black of her eyes, slightly alarming him. It was as if, in his arms, she became hollow. Like a stone, she ejected herself from his presence, grabbing his arms and pushing them back gently before turning to the counter behind them. She squeezed her eyes tight momentarily, only feeling the hard press into her palms as she clutched at the counter top in refusal. Refusal to accept. Refusal to deny. Refusal...to remember.

_"I was promised something...And I am going to get it...I will be Editor In Chief of a magazine...Even if I have to take you down first just to get there...It will happen...Either that...Or I'll get to hear you scream out my name..." His icy claws clawed her face once more and she flinched under his misodomous touch. "...One...last...time."_

She opened and closed them yet she could only see the same thing...She could only see him...She could see it...She could only see her worse nightmare.

_A whimper escaped her mouth that was now covered beneath his hand. His thrust had not only surprised her but shut her wrath immediately. Her body stiffened beneath him and her eyes could only see who had done the same previously. She became a 14 year old girl again and all of her power ceased to become her as it was replaced with the weakness that she involuntarily let fill her._

_She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout, she wanted to...do so much...but yet she found herself succumbing to fear when she felt him slip the Billy club out of her hand, the pepper spray from her hand and show her the blade in his hands, thrusting into her with a lasting exertion of force that made her shriek in disbelief._

_He pushed his hand down on her mouth once more and stared at her seriously before speaking. "I am going to take my hand off of your mouth...But only because...I promised you that I'd let you scream my name...one...last...time...And I am a man...of my word."_

_She felt a hand touch her back lightly and she reacted instantly, pinning the intruder to the surface in front of her by snatching his arm, curling it behind him and forcing him to bend over. Her body riveted with anger, shaking violently as she held him against what her hands once clung to. The dilation of her eyes grew beyond the range of expansion as she drew back her fist, smelling the thick scent of La Coda._

_"Bastard." Her words drew from a nasty vile that was her hatred...Her vile of revenge...She felt her mind go to the knife block in the corner but found it disturbed when her attacker spoke._

_"Willie."_

_She was silent._

_"Willie."_

_She was quiet."_

_"WILLIE!"_

She opened her eyes.

Daniel sprung up from the counter top as she immediately released her hold and she stumbled back against the stove in shock. She blinked furiously, no longer able to see his sweaty black hair, smell his husky perfume or feel the rush of hatred. All she could see was Daniel's wide eyes as he rubbed the line that had imprinted on his abdomen from her forcing him against it.

But before he could check himself, he had to look at her. The deer look in her eyes. The convulsions of her body, small little 'o' of her mouth and utter confusion. She looked lost, she looked disoriented...As if she had checked out of reality for a moment...And checking back was like stepping in to a new land where the customs were so strange.

When she realized what she had done, her hand shot to cover her mouth while the other checked at her chest as if the breath had left her body and her heart had flew out of her body simultaneously. She felt a rise to her eyes, a wet rise. She felt a pain in her chest, a sharp pain. She felt defeat in her spirit. Defeat.

"Willie..." He moved an island barstool closer to her, forcing her to sit as her body complied without the slightest bit of coherency or consent. It just went with the flow because the mind...was on a different page. This defeat she felt...This involuntary surrenderence...he did it. He had succeeded. He won.

She had let him in, years previous. He knew how to take her down. To start at her foundation. Security. To chip away at her mind. Flashbacks. To dissertate what made her a woman. Assault. To take her down. Reputation. He had a plan from the beginning...He executed it beautifully and succeeded in accomplishing the impossible. He broke Wilhelmina Slater.

At age 7, for Christmas she asked for a pony. She got an Encyclopedia. At age 13 she asked for a makeup kit. She got Boarding School. At age 16 she asked for a car. She got a new Boarding School. At age 48 she never asked for a battle. So she got a war.

"Willie..." She heard her name. She felt his embrace. She smelled his presence. But she tasted revenge. She always won the game. She always defeated her opponent. No one...Ever...won….except her. She never lost...She never raised the white flag to surrender nor did she ever cower in the presence of another...She never thought she would see the day when strong could no longer be used to describe her...

"Willie." She heard her name. She got up from the stool. She felt his hand touch hers. She pulled away. She smelled his presence dwindle. She walked away. She heard her name. She closed her bedroom door. He called her name. She didn't respond.

Preparation swarmed his heart. Preparation for a battle...Preparation for protection...for war.

**OoO**

She needed to be left alone. And so he did just that. He left her alone. And he just left.

Standing there in his dapper tux, something that she had picked out, showing one fourth of an inch cuff with a stiff collar to wrap his neck like a Pac-man sign. He was greeted by numerous political affiliates. He was smiled at falsely, shook hands with the disgusted and allowed those who passed to whisper poignantly about him not knowing that they were not very good at it.

"Did Charles invite you?"

He turned quick on his heels, seeing the smaller woman behind him, hands held tight to the shawl that barely met her shoulders. His mouth moved to speak but she lifted her brow...That dammed brow that shut his mouth and depleted any sound of assertion to that of complete oblivion.

"Charles?" He called out in a croak beneath his facade of a manly voice as he was stared down by the formidable creature.

"Senator Slater." She clarified; her head held high as her curls fell beneath her chin discretely. "My husband."

"Oh." He whispered, extending his hand. His eyes looked across her features, searching for a trace of Wilhelmina but was left empty handed, figuratively and literally. He looked down and found that she was yet to shake his hand, looking at him as if she was too good to do so. He quickly retracted and smiled briefly, seeing the Senator approach with a face that did not return that sentiment.

"You came alone?" Daniel nodded and the Senator continued. "Good, we don't need any more drama tonight."

"Drama?"

"Drama. The sexual harassment suit that was filed against her. Had she come this would have been a circus."

"You know she did not do it."

"I know my daughter, Mr. Meade..." The Senator spoke sternly, not a muscle moving on his face as if it was paralyzed with friction. Lisa turned to him and patted down the lapel of his suit as if to calm him down, from what, Daniel didn't know.

"You don't have to call me Mr. Meade...I'm your son-in-law." He was trying to be cordial...he was trying to be friendly. He was trying to eliminate the elephant in the room but it seemed as if The Senator just insisted on continuously bringing it back.

"What wedding did I attend?" He asked, feigning a memory with the uptick of his eyes. "What aisle did I walk down to give my daughter away? What invitation did I receive?" His voice was hard, growing irritable but Daniel stood his ground, unmoving as if the man's large stature and high political hierarchy no longer bothered him. "As far as I know, you are just a co-worker turned lover playing house...With my daughter."

As much as it stung. As much as it hurt. As much as it took him not to defend her in a ranting rampage. He kept his composure. "I didn't come here to fight."

"Then why are you here? I dropped the invitation at your home and you never RSVP'd."

"I need your help." He raised a brow and Daniel respoke. "She needs your help."

**OoO**

"...But her pride...Which I know she get from you won't let her report it. She doesn't want to bring attention to the situation because she just wants it all to go away...She just wants it to be over."

The Senator paused, the three of them now in his private study as the party continued downstairs. He sat at his desk as Daniel stood on the other side, Lisa leaned against the neck of his chair, staring back between the men, a conniving look in her eyes. She leaned down to his ear, whispering lightly. "She hasn't called you in years...What has she ever done for you? She has been using you since she was a little girl don't let h-"

"Hush Lisa!" He silence her, growing annoyed by her constant ramblings as she attempted to stir up trouble. He looked to Daniel, lividly living in his eyes as he opened the drawer besides him. "Ambrossi?"

"Rodrigo Ambrossi, sir."

He reached in his files and pulled out a case folder, a serial number printed on the front. "Lisa can you give us a moment?"

She looked to Daniel, lips pursed tight, her feet yearning to stay, ears yearning to listen but she found herself complying and leaving the room, smiling a fake smile in her husband's direction.

The Senator cleared his throat, putting on his thinly lined glasses as he opened the folder and read the information silently before speaking. "I just signed a Visa extension for him a couple days ago...His visa was up and we sent him back to Brazil but he appealed and after reading his case I granted him a 1 year stay."

"Can he sue her even though he is not a citizen?"

"Let me see the subpoena." The Senator reached out his hands and looked over the piece of folded paper, reaching it carefully. "I know the judge...An old college friend...We went to law school together...I'll see if I can get the court date pushed back because from what I see he has no evidence...Maybe even get the case thrown out."

"You would do that?"

"Contrary to popular belief I don't hate my daughter...I don't like her but I don't hate her...And it doesn't matter how I feel about her….No man has the right to take advantage of her like some...pawn...That upsets me." He closed the file and stood, taking off his glasses. "I think it's about time we rejoined the party."

Daniel followed his lead out of the office and back downstairs, both of them ignorant to the ear that had listened to the entire time. Both of them, ignorant to the footsteps that advanced towards their former place of meeting. Both of them, ignorant as they entered the office and snuck a peek at that secret file. Both of them, ignorant.

**OoO**

It was late. Drunks roamed the street and Socialites drunkenly roamed their apartments. Streetlights blinked and flickered in the poorer neighborhoods, staying constant in Manhattan. The moon was yet to make an appearance as the sun still attempted to set yet between the smog and tall skyscrapers it was rare to be able to tell the difference, and as he entered their temporary dwelling, the darkness continued to be the domain of choice. The only light that he could see was in the kitchen, like a flashlight but upon approach he could see that it was the flashlight on her phone. She was still in her day clothes and it was around 10 pm. He didn't know how she found her phone from where he hid it but she must have found out that he turned off her service so the media or anyone could contact her.

He took a chance and sat beside her as she worked dubiously on a piece of paper, signing here and there then writing sharp upper case letters in her own personal form of print.

"What is this?" He questioned, picking up a spare form that had no blank spaces yet instead countless words.

"Enrollment Papers."

"Enrollment Papers?"

She never looked up, her only direction given when she pointed her black nail to the top of the paper, allowing him to read it for himself.

"Chopin Pre-School..." He read aloud, now flipping through the brochure that was tucked beneath the form she was filling out. "He is 3 years old."

"He'll be 4 in January."

"Willie..." He warned softly. "Are you sure you want to do this...considering..."

"Are you trying to allude to something Daniel?"

"No...I'm just saying...You're stressed...There is a lot going on but-"

"We can visit him on the weekends Daniel it is not a big deal."

"Visit? What are you talking about?"

She sat back in the chair with a sigh and pointed once again to the name where small letters allowed him to see her point once again. He followed along, seeing her finger move and reading the small italicized letters. He jumped up immediately, still in his suit. "No!"

"Daniel just hear me out."

"Boarding School Willie? Boarding School?"

"Daniel..."

"Did you learn nothing from Nico?"

She looked down, tapping her nails on the table, the very table that she sat at that morning signing away her career. "Nico is strong...And independent and Izak is clingy...He-"

"When is the last time she called you?"

"Daniel-"

"When is the last time Nico called you Willie? When is the last time she saw you besides a television?"

"Ariel turned out fine Daniel."

"Ariel hated you for 16 years!"

"I've made up my mind..." She never looked up, she avoided his eyes and he looked desperately for hers as he stood in complete confusion. "It is a matter of security...And health an-"

"Bullshit Willie! You're not a single mom! Security? What is better, having him here with us or in another country to be vulnerable to Rodrigo Ambrossi? Health? You're not raising him by yourself Willie, I'm here! Have I not proven that to you! I left for like 5 hours to give you space and I come back to you planning to send our son away? I have a say Wilhelmina!"

She was silent. She didn't respond. She didn't move. She broke down. Setting her pen aside, her hands shielded her face as an intake of air resulted in her shaking shoulders and wet eyes. It was as if she had stepped 20 years into the past. She found out that Grant was sleeping Renee. Renee was pregnant and getting sent to the nuthouse. The Senator was blaming her for his campaign loss. Fey was acting like she had lost her mind and her world was going up in smokes. Her career was in danger. Her marriage was crumbling and so she sent her child away. She thought that it was best...It was her go to for protection. It was her go to for fear. It was what she had gone to. But Daniel wouldn't let her. He wouldn't let her retreat. He wouldn't let her give up.

His arm circled her neck and landed on her chest as he hugged her from behind, eyes still shielded. Discretely, his other hand reached around and crumbled the pieces of paper into a ball as he hugged her tighter, whispering lightly in her ear. "We don't have to resort to this Willie...We'll be just fine..."

He had reassured her that morning. He had reassured her that afternoon. He was reassuring her that night. And he would do it again, the next day and the next day. Until she no longer felt in danger of drowning. Until she no longer felt in danger of defeat. He would reassure her.

**OoO**

_What is going on in Meade Paradise...OR should I say Paradox? No one expected this to go so very wrong...Well that is no one that was sane. After the unfortunate accident with the beloved Ana Wintour, Fashion moguls around the world cringed as their Botox was shot in an accidental vein as the news swarmed that Wilhelmina Slater would be taking over her arch enemy's magazine. Now their miss-managed plastic surgery is coming to the light as the shocking news that GASP Her Creative Director Brazilian Ken Doll Ambrossi is suing her for Sexual Harassment. We knew La Slater liked her men young but we didn't know that she had to beg to get any. Speaking of any, where is her pasty beau in all of this? Reporters spotted him shooting little hoops outside of the couple's renovated home, blowing off some steam. Is this the end of the Slater-Meade Era? We'll have more in just a-_

The colorful screen went black as Daniel threw the remote back on the couch, much to Wilhelmina's disdain as she stood in the foyer over the stack of boxes that blocked the front door. "You need to stop watching that..."

"Well what else am I supposed to do? I have no job. I have no reputation. I have no people to scare. There is nothing to do. I can't go outside because the paparazzi will eat me alive, So I'm stuck here and how many times can a person play Monopoly with a 3 year old that can't count and thinks Jail is a Candy store before they lose their mind?" She lifted a box from the side and placed it on the stack in front of her.

"Hey-" He stopped her, pushing the boxes from her. "I don't want you lifting those."

"I don't want to go to court tomorrow." She snapped, lifting another box against this protest. "Guess it doesn't matter what we want."

"Wilhelmina." He took the box from her and set it back down, forcing her to listen as he spun to face her, giving her a look that commanded her attention. His attempt at a stern look that only looked like him trying to repress a laugh. "Last night...I told you that I was at a meeting with the new _Star! _Editor."

"Yes..."

"I lied."

"I know."

"And I'm sorry but- What do you mean you know?"

"Daniel I have planned so many schemes, takeovers and extortions I would be a disgrace to criminal activity if I didn't know the human responses of lying...Plus...You're just plain bad at it."

"I am not!"

"So you want to be good at lying to me?"

"No, I-Stop trying to twist this around on me!" He smiled, seeing her light chuckle at his quick fluster over the smallest thing. "I need to tell you something...Something serious."

"Okay...Does it have anything to do with Marc and Amanda?"

"Marc and Amanda? Why would it have anything to do with Marc and Amanda?"

"Because they no longer work for you..."

"Amanda still works for me...She just hasn't been feeling well lately so she has been staying home..."

"Is Marc pregnant too?"

"No...Marc is angry with me because Dr. Smith got a subpoena to appear in court tomorrow."

She gasped lightly, covering her nose and mouth with both hands. "No..."

"Wilhelmina it's not that big of a deal."

"Daniel he is Chief of Surgery! He has a reputation...Dammit..." She moved from the foyer and allowed her feet to take her in the direction of the kitchen where her phone lay flat on its face, charging near the counter.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Marc!"

"Willie don-"

"Hello? No I'm not upset with you why would I-Yes I heard the story...I didn't tell Rodrigo Marc...I don't know how he- What about the wedding?...Marc...This is ridiculous...Marc! Marc if I have to choose...Marc...MARC!" She rolled her eyes and slammed her phone down on the counter, sighing heavily before leaning against the counter. She looked down shortly, feeling his hand rub light circles around her spine as if to comfort her. She lifted her head; hands reaching back to hold the counter before she let out a dry laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"God...really hates me..." She whispered, sighing before looking up, biting a twinge of her lip back with her teeth.

"Willie..."

"Please don't Willie me Daniel...I know that I have been a mess lately but patronization does not help. I know that God hates me! I'm sure of it...In fact I expect a phone call very soon to ensure my plane trip to hell."

"Wilhelmina..."

"How else would you explain this mess...Why else would I be losing everything..."

"You're not losing everything..."

"Marc...Marc and Mode used to be EVERYTHING to me...He hates me because I chose you and I obviously don't have Mode...Before there was you, it was them and now I no longer have that."

"Willie I went to see your father last night."

She looked up, stepping back defensively. No he didn't. No he couldn't. No he shouldn't. No he wouldn't. He did. "You what?"

"Last night...His retirement party...I attended and we spoke..."

"What did you tell him?" Her voice alarmed...high-pitched...afraid...terrified.

"Everything...I told them ever-"

"How could you be so stupid!" With a rage in her eyes she swung at him, her fists meeting the heat of his chest. He tried to push her away but she came back stronger, yelling obscenities about his stupidity, about her privacy. Her nails were scratching him. Her feet were lifted from the floor. His hands gripped her waist and lifted her, extending her out as she attempted to harm him and didn't even notice that he had taken her to the living room and before she knew it, he dropped her on the couch, Plopping down she looked up at him, his breathing labored from fending her off and his hands on his non-existent hips, ignoring the scratches to his neck and face as she laid on her back, propped up slightly by her elbows as she breathed heavily as well.

"There were too many sharp edges in there..."

"You had no right..."

"He is going to help us..."

"Help us? He doesn't give a damn about anybody but himself! He didn't care when I was practically on my deathbed and he probably doesn't give a damn now!"

"Wilhelmina that is not fair..."

"Fair? Charles Slater doesn't know what fair is."

She got up to storm off but found her steps halted by him grabbing her, forcing her to look at him. "He knows what he is doing...You just have to trust him!"

"It's not him that I am worried about trusting Daniel it's that snake around his arm!"

"What-"

"Lisa! You said _them _I told _them. _I'm assuming that includes the woman use saw cling to him like an orange peel."

"She seemed nice."

"She's a bitch Daniel...And if she does anything to screw this up even more...it's on you." Her eyes narrowed dangerously in his direction and she sashayed down the hall, leaving him to his thoughts before he yelled out to her.

"These hormonal fits pass, right?"

**OoO**

"You owe me 6,000 dollars." Wilhelmina held out her hand and a little hand extended a couple of green, white and pink sheets of paper. She looked at them and looked at him, his giggle a proper response to the moment. She lifted a brow and held up the fake money, looking at him sternly. "This is 1,450 dollars Izak...I said 6,000 dollars not 6 pieces of paper."

He frowned, seeing her seriousness before puckering his lips to the air in her direction. She couldn't resist him and responded by kissing his cheek in which he giggled, wrapping his arms around her. "Wuv you Mama..." He squeezed her playfully and pulled away, oblivious to the effect that he was having on her. "Ewil Manapali!" He exclaimed, clearing the board off destructively.

"Izak!"

"Hmpmm?" He feigned innocence, swinging back and forth as if he had done nothing wrong.

"Good job." She pulled him into a wet array of kisses, tackling him with kisses as he laughed and giggled, sputtering beneath her touch as he absorbed her presence, her being with him. She had been AWOL in the Mommy role lately and it did not go unnoticed by him. But that day...And lately...He had her and he was soaking it up.

"Willie." Wilhelmina looked up, seeing Daniel in the doorway, watching. "Someone wants to meet with you in an hour."

"About?"

"Running their magazine..."

"Daniel stop playing with me...I am the last person on Earth that any sane Editor would want anywhere near their Magazine."

"Willie this person sounds pretty serious...They want to meet at _Affaire _in the corner table."

"This is a little hasty, don't you think?..."

"Just...hear them out...They sounded promising."

"Do you know them?"

"Nope..."

**OoO**

_Affaire. _ The new talk of NYC. The theme, French. The Decor, old world. The Ambience, perfect. The windows that overlooked the city allowed you to see the beauty in the tarnished reputation of the city. As Wilhelmina stood there, awaiting the host, she found herself admiring the view in a nostalgic way, thinking about the last time she actually stopped to look...to admire...to smile...to smell...the roses.

Despite that, she still looked _amaze. _She wore a fierce, little black dress that matched her slender silhouette yet found it appropriate to branch out into a chic dolman sleeve. Shielding most of that was a cream petticoat with black buttons that pulled together the dress and the snake embossed pumps that she proudly wore...Well as proudly as she could.

She barely made it out of the apartment alive, nearly trampled by reporters and their invasive questioning. In lieu of recent events, she had lost her connections with the media, seeing them as vultures rather than career boosters...They soon became the enemy as she became the victim._ Oh how the tables have turned._

Led by the Matre'D, she walked passed numerous tables that held stares and whispers of gossip and disdain. She held her head high and kept her emotions in check as she attempted to manage until she finally got to her table and saw just who wanted to meet her,

"You know if you wanted to poison me, you didn't have to invite me to dinner...You could have just mailed it...I would have opened it."

"Have a seat Wilhelmina." Claire instructed, pointing to the cushioned side of the both that was across from her.

With pursed lips, she slid in the seat, not wanting to be there. She was upset, she was tired, she was nauseous and she didn't want to be with Claire Meade. But lo' and behold...

"What do you want?"

"Take off your coat...Stay a while..." Claire joked, taking a sip from her glass.

"Rum?" Wilhelmina questioned, eyebrow lifted.

"Michael Kors...But good guess." She took another swig, smoothing the lap of her dress as a reaction to the comment. She wore a Luxurious wool crepe, cinched at the waist with a narrow, eye-catching gold leather belt that was topped off with a portrait neckline.

Wilhelmina rolled her eyes and snatched the glass from Claire's grasps smelling it briefly before setting it far away from her reach. "Seriously Claire?"

"You two aren't the only ones that are stressed...I need an outlet too...You and Daniel fornicate on my desk, I see the smudges and go have a drink...or two."

"Why did you call me down here?"

"I wanted to ask you something."

"No you can't have my key to Vogue so you can Vandalize Ana's old office..."

"You know Bradford slept with her?" Her eyes grew slightly wide and Claire nodded, reaching for the distant glass in vain as Wilhelmina slapped her hand and moved it further away. "I think he had a thing for woman with bobs..."

Wilhelmina smirked and Claire rolled her eyes as the waiter came over to take their orders. "Or just bitches."

**OoO**

"So I have a proposition for you..." Claire lead on, piercing her chicken breast with her knife as Wilhelmina stabbed her salad, that she would have gladly traded for a Sirloin, with a pointed fork. "When this all blows over...I want you to come run Mode with me..."

Wilhelmina looked up, looking around before chuckling, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Claire I know you were probably fond of the 1940's what with the riots and new found housewife freedom but in this day and age I don't think that it is necessary to knowingly cause World War III."

"Wilhelmina if we just find a common ground..."

"Claire...there is no common ground for us...I want what I want and I get it. You want what you want but you will never get it as long as I want something different...It won't work."

"Wilhelmina if we try..."

"Why are you so adamant about this?"

"Because I know you and your heart is in Fashion...Vogue won't touch you and Mode is the only thing that you can turn to...I'm extending an Olive Branch..."

Wilhelmina took a bite of her salad, her chewing nearly ceasing as it descended into a slow rhythmic motion of the mouth. As if she felt a shifting in her body, she contemplated, she thought, she was still for a moment. In an instant...she felt a quickening in her system and she knew that something was going on...That small and quick movement that coursed through her body stopped her in her planted tracks as she attempted to compose herself in front of Claire yet instead her hand flew to her stomach, a hedge of protection. Her chews stopped completely and Claire looked up, seeing her wide eyes and numb, mouth no longer moving.

"What, did someone finally put glass in your salad?"

Wilhelmina looked down, her instincts leading the way for her next move. "I have to go..." She stood and Claire did as well, now concerned, knowing that she never made rash decisions nor did she ever walk out on a free lunch.

"What? Wait..." She touched her arm and Wilhelmina sat back down, hand still at her mid-section. "Is it something that I said or did someone really put glass in your salad?"

"Claire I have to go..." She looked down and reached her purse that sat in the corner of the booth, as if thrown there.

"Go where?" She persisted, knowingly annoying the woman opposite her as she attempted to figure out the rush

"Claire I h-" With a sharp intake of air she froze and stood immediately, not willing to waste any more time. "Pay the bill." She ordered and Claire complied, leaving 2 hundred dollar bills, more than enough to cover the bill as she scurried out behind a her terrified daughter in-law

**OoO**

His footsteps led him. His footsteps took him. His footsteps made him walk the path that he did not want to travel. He walked down the corridor; desperate searching for two pairs of eyes that could provide some knowledge, shed some light on the situation at hand. When he found them he stopped, wanting them to come to him, they did so, stopping about a foot away before he shook their hands, their faces solemn and grim. "What is it?"

"Where is Wilhelmina?" Sauerberg questioned, looking and peeking behind him.

"I can't get a hold of her...What is the problem?"

"Ana is awake." Townsend spoke slowly, quickly turning his head back in the direction of her hospital room. "And she wants charges brought up against whoever did this to her...We didn't say anything to her but the contract may not cover you."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because we signed it...She didn't...She has the right to do what she wants to do."

"Mr. Sauerberg...Mr. Townsend..." Robert and Charles left Daniel alone with the short conversation they had had and the little information that they had provided. His head spun. The information swarmed and his anxiety became a drain, His footsteps began to lead him on a pace as he roamed, thinking, contemplating. IT was all happening so fast. Two minutes before he was already burdened down but now he was potentially going to have a suit riding on his back as well? Step after step, he continued to walk, up the steps, down the halls, around the corners until he bumped into someone, a familiar someone.

"Daniel!" Claire wrapped her arms around her son tightly and squeezed, assuming the worst. "Son I'm so sorry..."

"Mom..." He pulled away, looking at her shortly. "What are you talking about?"

She didn't hear him, she was too wrapped up in comforting him to the point where he didn't even know why he was being comforted especially since Claire was not aware of the accident's entailing details. "They...They sedated her because when she got up she was just simply hysterical...They bonded her hands and feet because her body is responding nega-"

"Mom what are you talking about?" He had to stop her. The words were spilling from her mouth and the coherency was not forming in his mind. The concepts jumbled, the thoughts rumbled. Little did he know...His world had tumbled?

"Wilhelmina...You didn't..." She took a short step back, covering her hand with her mouth before she let out a whisper that she thought was only heard by her. "You didn't know."

"Know what?"

"You didn't get my message?"

"Message? What message? Mom what are you talking about?" Now he was getting irritated. He was in a hospital, a place where he spent much more time than he would like and he was getting nowhere with answers.

"Daniel..." She let her head sink a little before her hands grabbed at his arms, hoping to hold him as they stood outside Wilhelmina's door. "The baby."

"What baby?" He acted as if he didn't know what she was talking about to keep the allusion so she wouldn't know...Although she already did.

"Daniel...I know...And I need to tell you something..."

"Tell me what? Mom you're scaring me...Where...Where is Wilhelmina..." He peeked over her head, trying in vain to see passed the closed blinds on the windows of her room.

"Daniel..." she held him to his arms, looking up to those big blue eyes that pleaded for good news as her own turned a light pink with a wet essence that wanted to overflow..."The baby...She lost the baby...Her heart couldn't take it…."

"What?" He asked, small smile on his face as he attempted to be in denial. He snatched himself away, backing up. "What are you talking about?"

"Son I'm so sorry..." She didn't want to be the one to have to break it to him. She didn't want to have to be the one to break his heart. She didn't want to have to be the one to break him...

"I don't believe you...no I don-" He shook his head, feeling a rush to his eyes. He longed to condense into a ball. To become silly putty...To be molded perfectly...To be able to roll with the punches and bounce back...To be resilient...But at that time he was still himself...imperfect...sensitive...strong yet weak...smart yet having his moments...sturdy yet malleable...He was in the middle...And at that time...It wasn't a good place to be.

"Where-Where's Wilhelmina..." He looked passed her but she stepped in front of him.

"The doctors are in with her now, Daniel she's fi-" He didn't want to be told about her state. He didn't want to be lied to about her state. He didn't want to be talked to sensibly...He wanted to be irrational. He wanted to see her with his own eyes, to break the rules, to barge in...So that is what he did...He pushed passed his own mother and barged in her room only to find himself blown back by the sight of white coats doing chest compressions on his wife, a monitor going off in the background. The sound faded around him and all he could feel was the rush of wind as bodies brushed passed him, pushing silver equipment and yelling out medical terms. Claire tugged at his arm but he yanked back fighting the truth, the reality. Tyler, who had been in the Cafeteria with Amanda came to hold him back from being a disturbance but he fought them off, only seeing the life leave her body as they continued to compress her heart..._1...2...3...1...2...3...1...2...3...1...2...3. _He heard heavy footsteps. The police. They had come to take him away...To make him face his actions. He felt cuffs clamp down on his wrists. He heard his mother questioning the charges. He heard his recited rights as a citizen...But it was all a blur...All he could hear...ALL he really heard... He heard her heartbeat slow, he felt himself being dragged out of the room as his feet began to slide and his eyes went from the ceiling to the wall...A wall that was only adorned by a simple...black...clock...

As a clock makes its rounds, hitting each number shortly, jagged movements from interval to interval each movement is precise in structure and each movement, deliberate and intense. As time passes the attention paid becomes null and void and people move on, they pay it no mind. The clock continues to strike, not caring about what you have to do at the end of the day, that morning, at 1 o'clock, that night...ultimately...Time is the Genghis Khan of life...It surpasses all and controls all...It is indifferent to social obligations or previous plans. It does not care what your check book says or about the balance in your bank. When the clock is ready to continue...When time is ready to go on... a jagged movement is what happens...from interval...to interval.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. He looked up at the clock and wished for it to go by quicker...to speed...to increase movement. He wanted to delete the moment. He wanted to end his pain. He wanted to erase it...from the book of existence... He didn't want to hear her heart stop...He didn't want to feel himself dying inside...He didn't want to see...that simple black...clock.

**OoO**

_I hope that you all enjoyed the Season Finale and Pretty Willie will be back on April 1__st_

_A promotional will be posted on Marc 10__th_

_And if you all REVIEW lol. ALL of you that can and are reading….I may be persuaded to push up the promo and Season Premiere date…._

_Love you guys and thanks for supporting me on this ridiculous (lol) ride!_

_-__**NWJ**_


	15. Promotional

Life. Wikipedia says that it is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes, living organisms, from those that do not. Merriam Webster calls it a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings. A simple dictionary states it as being the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally.

But what is life...When it comes off...of the pages. When it seeps into the interactive books of those who have brought animation to the simple four letter word...Can you really describe Life?...With a mixture of complex wording? The word is not even supposed to be capitalized. Because according to the grammar instituted in the English language, Life is not a person, place, title or acronym...Life is not fully reverenced properly unless it is the first word of a sentence.

Can you describe life...With a few simple adjectives? What about cruel? The way it picks on people...There are the meek that are hungry and the foolish that are full...The humble that are poor and the boastful...that are rich...Yet the meek and the humble are strong...and the full and rich are weak...What game...is life playing? What is life trying to do?

What about unfair? It always seems as if those who work their entire lives are the ones that never advance and those who are _pretty, _flamboyant...Move to the top in merely 2 years. People are blamed for things that they did not do...incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. Women slave beneath husbands just to be left after 20 years for someone that was born the same year that they got married...Men work themselves to the bone only for two shiny nickels to rub together while their boss goes home to heat, light and a 5 bedroom house, the employees not knowing where their next meal is coming from.

What about confusing? Isms and Schisms circulate through the world. Theorems and Axioms and Postulates and Theories are formed through scientific thought and presented to the world in such a fashion that the public doesn't know if it is true or not. Politics are corrupted; Men governing the people are robbing the people. Those serving the leaders are robbing the leaders. The church is corrupted, God's name is slandered and their message cannot even reach the world. Their messages are reverberated against the cushion of their sunken in pews, because the internal spills enable the external handicaps.

Life. You can do so much to describe it. You can say it is joyous...That it is happy...You can say that it is grim...solemn...You can pick up a dictionary or recite a thesaurus but what you will all find is that life...steps beyond the extent of close letters that we are taught form words...Life is an action...a verb...an Adjective...It's cruel..It's unfair...it's confusing...That's what we think...But we shall never know just what life truly is. We shall never understand the capacity that we behold just by breathing...by existing...As far as we know...life is and shall remain...A frustrating mystery.

And just how does one respond to this mystery? To sit and watch? TO wait and think? How does one process the complexity of life when they lift their eyes to the dripping water of a prison cell? When their hand is meshing against the floor and they realize that it's cement. It feels as if it's not even dry and like they're sinking beneath the surface.

He lifted his eyes to find his hands bound behind his back as two burly men ushered him inside of a white building. Before he could make it over the threshold, he felt himself being embraced by the arms of his mother, squeezing the darkness from his heart and attempting to input some life. But he was a stone. He stiffened at her touch, unmoving as he felt the eyes bore into him that sat in the lobby. His blue beams examined each person, Marc and Dr. Smith in the corner, Marc's body wracked with sobs as Amanda attempted to calm him yet had Tyler over her. Alexis, in the corner, a confused Izak on her lap. When you look into the eyes of a child, you can see the curiosity, the excitement. Looking into his son...beyond his Mother's eyes...Beyond his Mother's glare...He saw a dimming candle...The life was leaving him...As were his parents.

"You have 15 minutes." A burly man spoke up and Claire let go of him, patting his back as if to give her own self strength. She made him face her, straightening the collar on his orange jumpsuit the best she could. Her fingers frisked past the prickly beard that formed around his chin and she kissed his cheek, ushering him behind the double doors that she had been behind previously.

A guard followed them and she closed the doors behind him, allowing a worker to stay to take care of the formalities. "The press will be here soon son..." She urged him on, not wanting them to catch him there and snag him in photos, slandering his name even the more.

He did not hear her...He did not see her...He felt nothing...His only concentration...The epitome of his body focused on the pearl white...It's silver lining...HE swallowed hard, watching as the presider lifted back the top half...And allowed him one last glance. Immediately...He became stone once again. His body went numb and his insides coursed with pain as his eyes traced over the doll that was his wife.

It took the world...Out of him not to run to her side...And Claire saw that...She whispered to the guard softly and after careful thought he complied. Daniel moved up, feeling his hands become free from bondage, his feet still chained.

Consequently, being released from independent imprisonment he allowed his body to respond, forced his body to respond. His knees immediately fell to the ground, his hands...clinging to the edge of her final resting. A sharp gasp released from his mouth and his body rocked back in forth, the tears falling rhymatically down the plum of his cheeks as his mouth opened to speak yet all that came out was a wail.

Daniel wept.

Violently shaking, his hand allowed its back to grace her face one last time. Salty and wet, his lips allowed themselves one last meeting...Almost...He couldn't do it. He looked to her, and realized that she was wearing...the white dress that she had married him in...She was wearing...The wedding band that she had pledged her love to him with...She was wearing...The rest of him...She would take with her...The last bit of life...left in him...

The saying would be that when she left...a piece of him left with her...But no...When she left ...He might as well have went with her...He was gone. When the light left her crystal blue eyes...The waves left from the sea of his oceanic eyes. When her heart stopped beating...When the breath...was stolen from her body...That was it...

The red of her lips matched the pigment of his eyes as he moaned, holding tight to the edge of her essence, trying to remember her laugh...her smile...her eyes...The last time...He told her that he loved her. This is when he realized...that he never accomplished his endeavor...He never got to know her...He promised her the world but on top of that...He told her that he would know her...From the crown of her head to the sole of her feet...And he didn't.

Click. He felt the steel clamp down on his wrists once again and a burly man pick him up from his knees. "No..." He protested. "Wait...No...I want to say goodbye..." He whispered, trying to fight...trying to disperse of the present. "I want to say goodbye..." He pulled towards her but they pulled him back. Claire stepped in front of him, tapping his cheek, but he couldn't come to...He wanted to say goodbye. "Wilhelmina wake up..."

If he couldn't say goodbye than she was not really gone..." Wilhelmina wake up! I said wake up dammit!..." He yelled at her empty shell...Growing angry as the presider closed her behind that white pearl encasing, shutting him out. "That's my wife!" HE kicked in the air, trying to get away but found himself just struggling against a brick wall."Tha-That's m wife!" He struggled, feeling himself being restrained against the cold surface of an unwelcoming presence. "It-It wasn't supposed to be this way!" Those were his final words to her...They put a Taser to his arm and carried him out, unconscious and sedated.

But he was right. It was not supposed to be that way. Life was not supposed to be that cruel. Life was not supposed to be that unfair. Life was not supposed to be that confusing. Life was not supposed to be...like that.

_See you April 1__st__!_


	16. SEASON PREMIERE : Up Unto The Hills

That is why when he lifted his eyes once again, he found that dripping water from the ceiling of a prison cell...That hard cement that felt like quick sand and that though life was cruel...dreams were crueler. Placing a hand on the floor, he blinked mercilessly, trying to decipher his dream from reality. He looked at his clothes, still his suit. He looked at the calendar down the hall, still November 11th...So he slid back down the wall...to wallow in his sorrow...to swallow his pain...to feel...empty.

When he sat there, feeling as if life had treated him like a piece of paper...life had crumbled him, cut him, stained him...expecting him to rise again...and again...and again without hesitation. Each time he attempted, he got slower. Each time he became less effective, less efficient. HE was at the point where he could no longer stand, bounce back. Looking around, the only light being that of a cheap 2 dollar light bulb, screwed into the sheep lamp of the night officers. Before it was brighter but they closed the blinds and escorted the paparazzi off of the premises.

They were having a field day and barely even knew the tale. But he didn't care...HE was hollow from the inside out. He could hear his organs working, he could feel his heart beating...But it didn't feel real...It felt as if he was at the aquarium and his face was pressed up against the glass, his breath making clouds as he exhaled. He felt as if he was watching life pass him by, watching life go on like fishes in the sea, going on about their business...his own business, his own life, stagnant.

A sharp wind brushed passed his body, evoking his next actions. His head lifted slowly, revealing a bitter anger that transpired across the red of his face. He was tired. He was beaten to oblivion. He had been whipped...And thrashed...Nearly killed...Yet there was not a scratch on him...that is...that you could see.

When he heard the sound of the metal bars clanking against each other...Sliding back slowly, unevenly matching the ones that met them in a parallel fashion. Pity beseeched him, watching a being take a seat at the folded chair in the corner. He looked at him, disgust in his stare. He felt drunk...Drunk in hurt...Drunk with pain.

"Come to do a press conference?" His tone was smug and unforgiving. It wasn't his fault. The man who sat before him had no part in the demise of his storybook life...But that meant nothing to him.

"I told you that I would help you...And so I am here." He was unmoving by the man's pain. He no longer had a connection to the human capacity of emotion. He had long dropped that trait and now sat before his son-in-law, unable to express any sympathy.

Daniel was silent, choosing to remain in his place, beneath the man...beneath his position...He became a meager being as the man that sat before him rose in superiority. He was put together. He was calm. He was suitable to handle him in the moment. The Senator waited for a response, not surprised when all he got was a weathered glare, sprinkled with pangs of venom.

"I want you to tell me everything happened that night...From the beginning of the day to the end of the day."

"Why should I talk to you?"

The Senator allowed his chin to raise a bit, his brow twitching with hints of agitation as he attempted to attach himself to the well of patience but found it hard to latch on and time was dwindling. "Because my daughter is not the kind of woman that would run off and marry a deficient moron...You're smart...You have common sense...And you want your life back..." Daniel's eyes flickered up, his fingers twiddling the neck of his tie between his fingers, his collar open and clothes ragged. The Senator cleared his throat and opened up his portfolio, clicking his pen against the yellow stained note paper. "So...August 21st...2013..."

**OoO**

She couldn't stay there...In that cold place. Seeing sobbing faces. Seeing grim outcomes. Seeing the bleak future flash across the circumference of her head before she could snatch them...place them in a box...push them into a closet...and shut the door.

As her son, she lifted her eyes to that of a blinking green sign, enticing her entrance. She stood on the side walk, watching as others carried on drunkenly inside, leaning over the bar, clanking their glasses together, planning a one night stand. Her mind willed her to go inside...But her feet kept her planted to the crème colored cement, blackened by the footprints of the millions that traipsed across it each day.

Staring into the window, the people became an afterthought and she realized her reflection. Her hand reached up, running across the lining of her profile, touching each wrinkle, indent decreased by makeup...But just because you couldn't see it...Said nothing about t's presence. She could conceal them with a dash of concealer here and overdose of blush there but...You can always tell a woman's age by her eyes.

She stared into them...And saw her life in the reflection. She saw her wedding dress lying on her bed as she prepared to be wed to the man of her dreams. She saw her face on the cover of the NY Times, headlining as Mrs. Meade...She saw the flames burn, ignite with a passion as she set fire to the magazines that had destroyed her family. She saw her first drink...She saw her second drink. She saw her problem...She saw the Hartley's...She saw Tyler...Then she really saw Tyler.

"Mom?" He called out several times, watching her detach from her daydreams and cooperate with the reality that withstood her.

"Tyler..." Her head bowed subconsciously as her hands clung to her purse that hung snugly between her arm and her upper side, protected from any Holiday pick-pockets.

He turned around, seeing the blinking green sign before returning his attention to her, pointing back his thumb. "Did you..."

"I almost did..." She answered, feeling ashamed at her inability to resist. "I came...I came very close..."

He was quiet, taking note at her embarrassment. But he himself was no better. "To be honest..." She looked him in the eyes, hearing his tone change as his hands sunk into the depths of his pockets, seemingly tunnels that went of forever in an endless eternity. "I was on my way over here to get a drink myself..."

"Tyler..." She whispered, now burdened down with the fact that she had set an example that her son shouldn't follow. "It has been 3 years ..."

"I know..I know...Mandy would kill me if she knew that I was here but it...it is just soo hard..."

"Abstaining?"

"Life in general, Mom...look at Daniel and Wilhelmina." He shook his head in his subconscious, taking a deep breath before looking away for a distraction. Before he knew it, he had left and Claire watched him, wanting to ask him where he was going but found her words to be lodged in her voice back, only being released when he walked back shortly, two foam cups in his hands.

"What is this?" She questioned, taking the extended cup to her hands, gripping at them for warmth in the dead New York City Winter.

"Hot Scotch..." She lifted a brow, stopping before it could reach her lips and he smiled sheepishly. "Or Warm Rum...A Bloody Mary...Cosmo...Sea Breeze..Whatever we want it to be to take the edge off."

She stared at him and he continued, chuckling lightly. "...And Hot Chocolate..."

Claire nodded, extending her cup. "Cheers...to staying sober..."

He agreed, extending his cup. "Cheers...to staying together."

**OoO**

He couldn't move...He could barely flinch. The only thing he felt was the dull edges of his nails as they crept past his teeth, biting them in his mind yet just pressing his teeth against them. He shut his eyes against the wetness of his pupils, allowing them a rest from staring out into the space that was nothing but a blank wall, a blank white wall.

He lifted his eyes to see Dr. Smith standing before him, clutching at a cup of coffee before handing it over to his fiancée. He looked away, taking the peace offering with a slow huff as Amanda offered a small sympathetic gesture that he paid no mind to. His head lifted up as he covered his eyes, a thought crossing his mind before he covered his eyes once again, trying to keep it together.

"It's not your fault..."

He shook his head lightly, setting down the cup and choosing to folly with the stiff napkin, once damp with his tears. "I..." he shrugged. "I wasn't there I was just...wrapped up...In my stupid wedding..."

"Marc, you were there for her all the other times..." Amanda offered, thinking about all the times he blew her off to be at Willie's beck and call, not minding her feelings in the least.

"Yeah well, she wasn't dying all the other times Mandy..." With that last declarative statement he felt his heart sink into his shoe and stood, beginning to pace the waiting room as if it would do him any good.

"Marc, she is not dying..." Dr. Smith calmed his dramatics, standing alone metaphorically yet with him to straighten his suit. "Now I have to go..." He leaned in for an embrace and Marc turned away, not in the mood for affection. In his mind, it was the overly-affectionate ways of him and his boy-toy that led him to his current state of mind. That lead him to blaming himself for his bosses demise...And he would have no mind to continue his unfortunate streak.

Dr. Smith turned the corner, choosing to let him be alone with Amanda. As soon as he left, Marc found himself back at her side, his head still making vertical movements of denial. "If she's not alright...I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself..."

"Marc, okay now you're being like, Sondheim on Sondheim dramatic...Suck it up! She is going to be fine..."

HE stood once again, walking to her door, his nose pressed up against the 3 by 8 glass window on the side of her door where he peered to get a look at her, barely seeing her face passed the block of her oxygen mask.

"Are you...Mr. Meade?"

Marc popped back, startled by the voice only to find the source to be a white coat, dressed in navy blue scrubs and a salt n'pepper shave. "Me?"

"Yes...I'm looking for her husband..."

"Is it...serious?"

"I need to speak to her husband."

**OoO**

He lifted his eyes to the fluorescent lighting of the courthouse that shone unmercily on him as the Senator spun his finger for him to turn around. Daniel did as he was told, not bothering to put up a fight that he had no chance in hell of winning. "I think she'd be proud..."

Daniel stared back at him, grimacing at the reference to _her._...As if she were already dead. With a breeze, he flew passed him to Judge's Chamber where the honorable Judge Donalley name was plated to the paneling of the mahogany wooden door.

The Senator, following close behind him, held the door as he walked past the creaking hinges that made some want to crawl beneath a table. His footsteps ceased when he spotted that _La Coda _wearing bastard, his legs crossed on the parallel side of the desk with his team of legal aides standing behind him as he played with a Rubix cube.

Charles nudged Daniel's back gently, inclining him to take a seat yet Daniel stood, his hands finding his pockets as the Senator shook hands with the man behind him. "Daniel this is Lewis Roland...He'll be co-sharing with me on this case...presided by the honorable..."

"Enough with the flirtation Charles..." An older woman spun around in her chair, revealing a blonde, closely resembling Claire yet seemingly older in the age of her hands. "Mr. Meade...Virginia Donnelley..." She reached out to Daniel and he responded coldly, avoiding her eyes...She looked around, searching for another pair of eyes to look into. "Charles where is that charming daughter of yours...Hopefully not with...Lisa.." Judge Donnelley's eyes flicked up in the Senator's direction suggestively, making Rodrigo look to the both of them, now suspecting a connection..

"She um...She's in the hospital..." Daniel spoke lowly from the back of the small room, surrounded by books as he fiddled with his ear as if to sustain his overwhelming yearn for her...to see her...to know what the hell was going on with her.

"And her husband here, is standing in for her during the proceedings..." The Senator added, taking a seat at the desk.

"Your honor..." One of Ambrossi's gray-haired monkeys stepped forward. "The defendant should be here...for the proceedings, this is not a circus...The-"

"Settle down Richard..." She smirked, settling back in her chair. "I have been briefed on Mr. Meade's connection to the case and he was a primary witness..."

"Hearsay, your honor..."

"And the New York statute states that the conversation between a man and wife be considered admissible with substantial evidence."

"But the statute also says that the conversation between a man and a woman be treated as proprietary."

The Senator stood, rolling his eyes at the over-zealous attorney. "Unless both parties agree to share their conversation, then it can be admissible as evidence."

"Well if she is in the hospital, how can she give her consent?"

"I..." Daniel's whispering voice was heard above them all as he folded his arms before himself, restraining himself from pulling at the jet locks of Ambrossi's cocky Brasilia. "I have the power...of attorney over her...We both do..When either is incapacitated and right now she is unconscious so I consent...I give her consent as well as my own..."

"And if you two sit down..." Judge Donnelley suggested, growing irritated. "We have all been practicing law for a long time and we are all well-versed on the ins and outs of the New York Statute...There is no reason to re-educate each other like pre-law college freshman, now have seat...both of you..."

Senator sat down reluctantly, watching Richard as he stood behind Rodrigo like a martyr. "We also want to request Ms. Slater's medical records..." Richard set motion of Judge Donnelley desk and she put on her thinly lined glasses, squinting at this added complication.

"That is a preposterous!" The Senator fumed, shaking his head as he was passed the motion. "On what grounds?"

Richard stepped forward, proud of his accomplishment. "We have reason to believe that Ms. Slater has been hospitalized after having a negative effect to a pregnancy...termination to eliminate evidence..."

"You son-of-a-bitch..." The Senator flew out of his chair, spinning to push back Daniel as he advanced towards Rodrigo, eyes intent on his neck. Daniel attempted to sustain his anger yet all he could see was that bastard hovering over his wife and hear her...scream his name...and remember that..He never came. "Wait!"

Daniel's voice finally came to that of a grown man and the attorney's settled down, Charles and Richard backing up as to not protect and hold back their clients. "Wait..." He reached into his suit pocket beneath his lapel, searching for his wallet... "Where's my wallet..." He looked to the Senator who pulled out the police materials plastic bag, holding his phone and wallet.

"Let the record show that Mr. Meade is involved in another case in which he is considered for attempted vehicular manslaughter..."

"Richard, Mr. Meade is not on trial here..." Judge Donnelley intervened as Daniel ransacked his wallet before her on her desk.

"Bribery will not work..." Richard scoffed, mistaking Daniel's actions for mischief.

"Will you shut up for two minutes please!" Daniel scolded as he searched for something. His proof. What he wished to be his future.

Judge Donnelley looked down as he placed a stunning photo of him and Willie before her, the two of them at the last years black and white ball. She wore a white bodice, the sides lined in black before stemming out into a pleated set with strips of black finding each tail. He matched her with the usual black suit and white tie as her hands touched his chest, not paying attention to the camera taking their picture, her lips inching towards him as a 2 year old Izak smiled widely at the camera, pulling the attention to him.

"What a beautiful family..." She admire softly... "But why am I looking at this?" She questioned, holding up the two sided, folded photo, with the same picture on each side.

"Open it..." He instructed, breath labored as the anticipation built in the corners of the room.

Judge Donnelley looked at him closely, taking her short nails to the binding that kept the photo close. A clicking noise of separation sounded through the room as the two identical photos came apart to reveal a black a white photo sandwiched between them reading _Slater-Meade Baby: 6 weeks._

"He claims that the assault was 2 weeks ago..." Daniel added, allowing the judge to piece it together on her own. To figure that Wilhelmina Slater was not hospitalized over trying to get rid of Rodrigo Ambrossi's baby as he so classically alluded to because there was no baby by him.

"Motion to dismiss all charges..." The Senator set the file down before her.

Richard flew up above an ever-quiet Rodrigo. "On what grounds?"

"Lack of sufficient evidence...The plaintiff has shown little-to-no tangible items that support his claims only leading us, the defendant to believe that it is indeed a fallacy..."

"I'll review the material and we will be back here in 3 days to see if this pre-trial will make it _to _trial..." She nodded as if to signal a conclusion and Daniel immediately stormed out, feeling stifled by the closed in space.

"Calm down...We're doing well..." The Senator spoke softly, trying to keep their business between them.

"Who the hell told that asshole about Willie?" HE knew, the senator knew...That was supposed to be it..Even Marc didn't know.

They fell silent as the door opened once again and Rodrigo left with his extensive legal team which seemed pointless after being in there and only hearing one man talk. As they waited for them to pass, he thought, searched his mind for who he told...He told the Senator while he was telling him the story and...Lisa...was sitting right there. "Dammit..."

"What?"

"Lisa, that's what! She told that snake that Wilhelmina was pre..."He turned around, his hands gripping at his hair before he found it in himself to leave, to storm out. He couldn't say the words. He could think the thought. He couldn't face it...Knowing that it was no longer true.

"Daniel, wait..." The Senator trailed after him as he ran out of the courthouse, immediately met by reporters and cameras, all wanting one thing that had their interest in mind. "Come here!" He snatched him up by the collar of his jacket like a little boy, not allowing him to run away, to run afraid. He had to face this. "I don't know what the hell happened but if Lisa had something to do with this than I will handle this!" He whispered harshly, looking passed him to see the plunging mikes in their direction, attempting to catch every moment of their exchange. He pulled him back into the lobby of the courthouse, shutting out the media immediately. "Listen...I need you to get yourself together..I posted bail for you so you don't have to return to court for 2 weeks...Change your clothes..Take a shower just calm down and then go back to the hospital as fast as you can..."

"What? What's going on, why can't I go now?"

"Just do what I ask..." He glared at him shortly, giving him the ol' Slater stare down that send a rivet up and down his spine, making him stand up straight and shut the hell up. Because he had business to take care of.

**OoO**

She lifted her eyes to an open door, not expecting the visitor, even if it was his house. She watched as he walked passed her blindly, entering the hallway and double-backing as if he was just coming to terms with what he had seen in his peripheral view. He stared at her, pointing in her direction in confusion. "When did you get here?"

"Who do you think has had your kid this whole time?" She joked, Izak siting on the box that she was taping, as a paper weight.

He sighed, opening his arms as she moved in for a quick embrace. "I'm really glad you're here..."

"Well I live here now..." Alexis put her hands on her hips, thinking that he knew and was only playing dumb.

"Since when?"

"I finished my move yesterday...Which is why I didn't call you and tell you that I had made it in..."

"Where is DJ?"

"He is going to finish his senior year in high school with his grandparents...He didn't want to leave his friends and everything...teenager crap..."

He nodded, seeing Izak. "You look a mess..."

Izak jumped down from the box, just so he could nudge Daniel in the knee. "Nice to see you too."

"I see who he takes after..." She joked, looking to her brother for a laugh yet only got a hurtful grimace as he turned around, his fists filling his pockets. "Daniel I-"

"It's okay Alexis..." He smiled weakly, not wanting her to feel as if he was so sensitive that she couldn't even mention his wife. He wasn't going to live like that...As if she were already gone...He wasn't going to treat her like the rest of the world was.

**OoO**

Finally, she had lifted her eyes only to be blinded by the lighting that seemed to be shining directly on her eyes. Slowly, she felt the solar pressure dwindle on her eyes and she opened them slowly, blinking numerous times to clear the blurry image that was her child as he watched from a far, observing quietly yet his eyes whispering his desire to be in his mother's arms.

She closed her eyes one more time, trying to gain a grasp on the who, what, when where, and why of her current state. Why couldn't she move her hands or her feet? Why she felt that if she coughed her heart would fly out of her chest and like she hadn't slept in 6 days. Why she didn't feel up to even lifting a pencil...She was unaware of these answers...But knew that she wouldn't like what she heard when she did.

While her eyes were shut, closing out the rest of the world, Daniel looked to his sister as if to release her from staying there to make sure he didn't lose it seeing her in such a state. She obliged, leaving the room quietly with Izak in tow, who wanted to stay. Now alone with her, after waiting for what seemed like forever, he had no words...He could only rivet in her appearance, the lighter shade of her face, the weakness in her face, to look at her pained him, for the first time.

His hand reached up, lying softly on her brushed back hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail, the waves of her curls still obviously apparent. Soon she opened her eyes again, seeing his arm in front of her. Immediately she tried to reach up, but found it difficult seeing that she was in restraints. He moved swiftly, undoing the Velcro that held her down for whatever reason he didn't know. Finally free she tried to reach up, but found it to be a task...But a task that she sought to complete. Slowly but surely, she grabbed his arm, seeing the tiny red marks on his forearm and _X _marked with two peach colored Band-Aids...

"Wh..." She began, feeling the pang in her throat, deciding to stick to the basics and just held his arm, the only easy thing for her to do being the lift of her eye brows, which she took full advantage of as she stayed laid back, wanting answers.

He shook his head and of her grasp, returning to the soothing measures of his hand against her skin, the state of her being so fragile. "Don't worry about that." He looked to her and she scowled, feeling the full movement of her face with the glowering look of demand that she placed upon him. He sighed, shrugging off his actions. "You needed a blood transfusion...They asked Marc first because he is O negative but during his exam, they said that he was anemic and couldn't give blood at the time...So they called me... "He lifted his arm, smiling softly as he pointed at the red dots."They gave me this ridiculously old nurse...And she couldn't find a vein for whatever reason and just kept poking around and boo-yah..." He pointed to the _X. _"It took forever and a day...But she found it..."

She smiled shakily, her only movement being her hand reaching to the right side of his face, stroking the apple of his cheek gently as him to thank him. He took that hand and folded it into his, pressing his lips to the softness of its back, his eyes focusing contently on hers.

"Do you want me to get the doctor..." His knees inclined to stand and she shook her head, wanting a few more minutes with him before having to be poked and prodded by pure strangers. She wanted to forget about her heart. She wanted to forget about the court. She wanted to forget the drama...And just remember them...and someone else...

After a few minutes passed with them, there was an allowance of the silence to speak for them and their hands to meet in a mutual declaration of their affection for one another. Something that did not have to be spoken, only acted upon. She reached over and pressed her abdomen with a sense of urgency as if she had just remembered something, as if the restaurant scene was just coming back to her. She squeezed his hand, making him look up, fear in his eyes as he jumped up, about to pull away to get help, yet she held on tight, pulling him back to her, shaking her head as her eyes filled. She pressed a hand to her stomach once again, hoping that he could get the message, but he feigned confusion, not wanting to have to be the one to tell her.

"The..." Her voice spoke like a low rasp as she whispered in his direction, barely audible. "The...baby...Daniel..."

He turned around, still holding her hand as he ran a hand down his face, before pulling his chair closer to her bed so that he could speak directly to her. His mouth opened to speak but all that happened was the glassy transparency of his eyes. Silently, he brought her hand closer to him one again, kissing it once more before she finally understood. She inhaled deeply, turning her head in the opposite direction, feeling the rise in her eyes.

He remained seated, waiting for her release, gripping at her hand to remain strong for her...to not fall apart with her...That was what yesterday was for...Now it was her turn. She let out a light gasp that was followed by a quivering inhale. That's when he stood, his free hand stroking the side of her face, now damp with thin lines of tears as she held tight to his hand still.

"We can...adopt...Or we can try...again Willie..."

She shook her head softly, light enough for him not to notice for she knew that if a miscarriage could put her in such a state, there was no telling what toll birth would take on her. She knew...In her heart she knew that there would never be an again...another chance...another time. That was it.

"Don't do that..." He coaxed, kneeling at her level. "You're still here..." He kissed her cheek tenderly, shivering at the realistic nightmare of his previous nights...Of her breathless body...Of a world that existed...without her. "That's all that matters." And that thought...that thought alone...is why he was able to lift his eyes, once again.

**OoO**

_Missed You! OMG this break was just what I needed to focus on school work and passing my classes. I hope none of you stopped reading because of it and if you did, your loss! Lol JK But anyway, Review because they always mean a great deal to me and are never ever in vain._

_Good Night,_

_**-NWJ**_


	17. Missin' You

_A/N at end_

Charles E. Slater was born on August 16, 1957. At age 69, he had risen to the height of his political career in the coveted seat of New York's Senate, serving his 2nd consecutive term and doing a damn good job. He was instantly recognized and respected, known for his local advocacy and fellowship. He could be seen all over the news, kissing babies and shaking veteran's hands. For the first time, he was not the devil...he was not universally seen as the emotionless bastard that his daughter had severely labeled him. And soon it would all be over. He had his retirement papers. His term was coming to a close. And the prestige was dwindling. He would go back to the devil, especially in the eyes of his children. Even as the great man that many saw him to be, he still was an evil bastard who stole their childhood and ripped the happiness from their adulthood.

And his last glimmering hope...That last bright thought...That at least he had someone to grow old with...He had someone to love him and keep him company in those moments of hatred, bastardly ways and bitter days. But he soon realized that he could trust no one. No thought was safe, No conversation sacred in his own household. The woman that he had trusted for years, blindly in love with the idea of her, the idea of a younger woman to keep his gears going, to keep him alive and vibrant. He never made an attempt to get to know her and because of that, 34 years after saying _I do _he was now wondering why he ever even got down on one knee.

Speaking of the devil, as if on cue, her wide smile peeked behind his old office door, allowing it to creak behind her as she entered, setting a warm cup of tea before him. And then he wondered, off the wall, _Just what was it with Slater's, stress and tea?_

"We really should get that door fix..." She suggested, pointing to the bottom hinge of the door, a little metal object that seemed to make its presence known any time someone crossed its threshold.

"I like it...Makes a statement..." He spoke softly, bringing the mug to his lips, and then deciding on second thought that considering recent news; It would be best if he not take that chance.

"You seem stressed..." Lisa grinned, walking behind him before massaging his shoulders lightly.

"Just this case with my daughter..." He spoke firmly, no longer willing to refer to her as _Wanda _or _Wilhelmina _in her presence. She was not theirs and she was not her mother. She had no claim to her. She had betrayed him...and her.

"That has been over for 2 days now Charles...The Judge threw the case out..." Her head sunk down next to his, kissing his neck softly before finding his resistance offensive. "Charles..." She rose, sitting on the edge of his desk. "Are you alright?"

"What was it about her that you never liked?" He spoke avoiding her eyes.

"Who?"

"My daughter..."

She stuck out her bottom lips, shrugging. "I never had a problem with Renee..."

His hand slammed down on the desk forcibly, making her jump up in fear as he softly retracted, attempting to keep his unique temper under wraps. "You know damn well which daughter I am talking about Lisa..."

"I don't consider that...Monster...to be your daughter..." She shook her head, moving to the flowers on his desk as she pumped and primed them to a full flourish. "She was a stubborn thing...She... had you wrapped around her finger like a li-"

"Her father...Lisa!" He rose from his chair, making it spin from his volt as he launched with a ferociousness that send her flying back. "I was her father, she was 13 and-"

"And she did not want you to be happy..."

"No she didn't want me to be with you and because you..."

"I what? I loved you? I cared for you?"

"You leeched off of me..."

"What are you talking about?"

"For years I attributed my up and down bank accounts to your frivolous spending..being a woman...Never you stealing from me!"

"I am not-"

"I checked your bank statements Lisa, your password _IRUNNEWYORK _is not the most original thing in the world..."

"I can't believe you invaded my privacy like th-"

"Oh cut the crap!" His voice had risen and his feet had led him from behind his monstrosity of a desk to face her, his wide stature dominating what made hers look quite frail. "You went through Rodrigo Ambrossi's file and you contacted him with information regarding her medical records!"

"I-" He silenced her immediately, parking his hand before her face. He didn't have time for her excuses, he didn't want to hear her excuses...He didn't want to hear her.

"Don't...Let me remember you..." He touched her cheek with the back of his hand, a trademark smirk descending into a disgusted grimace. "The deceitful, conniving low-down bitch that screwed over my family..." He turned away from her, walking back calmly to his desk. He sat back, hands folded on his lap as he stared back at her. "Needless to say...We're getting a divorce...And I want you out of here by midnight." He feigned interest, looking to his watch. "Looks like you have a whopping 45 minutes..._Bes' get crackin'_"

"You..." She stared back incredulously, trying to find a plan, a scheme, SOMETHING that could allow her to see the light of what seemed like a never ending tunnel...Yet there was nothing but darkness. "You can't...do this..to me, I am your wife, I-"

"...Signed a pre-nup...Expect a call from my lawyer by Monday morning." He rolled his eyes and returned his glance to his calendar, scanning the dates aimlessly as he awaited her to leave yet she seemed glued there, the maple floorboards. He cleared his throat, putting on his glasses as if to forget her existence. "You can go..."

He was releasing her from her dream and his nightmare. He was releasing her from his family and taking away the key of terror that she held to them. For years he had been blind to the hold she had on him, the wool over his eyes. He refused to be blind ever more. He refused to let her control him in the sunset of his life. Now was his time to step out of the moments of hatred, bastardly ways and bitter days...And wait in expectance for what he yearned to be a brighter day.

**OoO**

"I don't need to be babysat!" Wilhelmina scowled as she exited the lift, Ariel trailing behind her like a medical assistance pony. They looked like spies, dressed in all black and reflective black sunglasses that shielded their eyes from the rest of the world. With Wilhelmina leading the way, they marched through the crowded hospital halls as they made their way to a room. Ariel clung to her mother's arm, not willing to allow her to walk alone, despite her ability of ambulation, considering what she had come back from.

_Did you pursue a sexual relationship with Rodrigo Ambrossi?_

_Is it true that Daniel Meade shelled out a tab of 6 million dollars to silence MR. Ambrossi?_

_Did you and your husband put out a hit on Ana Wintour?_

_Why do you hate Vogue?_

_Are you abusing over-the counter prescriptions?_

_Did you overdose of Vicodin, causing your 5 day hospital stay?_

A nurse moved to halt the paparazzi as they closed in on the V. I. P. wing of the hospital, only allowing Ariel and Wilhelmina to pass through. Waiting for the nurse, she sighed now wondering why she didn't just go home as soon as she was released rather than insisting on coming on this floor.

"Mom?" Ariel questioned her eyes wide ad her eyes begged the obvious question.

"I'm fine..." Wilhelmina assured, now getting tired of every sigh, huff or exaggerated exhale to be misconstrued as a life or death matter.

They crossed over the sliding-door vestibule, leading them to a calmer atmosphere and the first door on the right, blocked by blinds. Wilhelmina turned to Ariel and handed her her purse. "Mom are you sure...that this is a good idea? I mean...You were just released this morning..."

"Ariel...I said that I was fine...Take notes from Marc, he knows when to speak and when to shut up...Do you know what kind of moment this is?"

"A shut up moment?"

"Thank you." She turned her back and let a hand rest on the glass that separated her from what she always had considered a bad dream, other hand gripping at the silver knob as she turned it and allowed the door to swing open slowly.

"Well, well...I was wondering when I'd see your wrinkling face again..." Ana spoke softly, analyzing the three issues of Vogue that she did not see. That she did not authorize to go to print, that did not...have her name on the masthead. "I guess I should thank you...That is for boosting Vogue sales a whopping 37%...With of course the penalty of your usual crime yet no time..." She looked up, shrugging. "I don't know why I woke up...You seemed to be doing a great job at publicity stunts and public humiliation...What do you need me for?"

"You know what I need Wintour..." Wilhelmina stood up straight at her be side, eyeing her closely as her eyes scaled the precision of each photo, color coordination of each shoot, intentionally trying to see her adversary sweat...

"Oh I know why...But I know that you also know me and that I don't do deals Slater...Your little lamb of a husband was drunk and crashed into my car..He almost killed me... "She looked up, daringly pursing her lips. "Intentional or not...He deserves to be punished..."

Wilhelmina smiled half-heartedly, allowing a light chuckle to leave her throat. She turned around, pointing to the planted chair in the corner. "Do you mind?" Ana was silent and Wilhelmina brought the chair up to her bedside, as close as it would get her. She sat down, looking her in the eyes and only seeing Fey Sommers staring back at. Fey Sommers ranting on and on about shoulder pads, leg warmers and parachute pants; All horrid 80's trends. She saw right through her mysterious stare and saw the Fey that she knew how to manipulate, the Fey that turned Wanda into Wilhelmina.

"Darling, if only _you _knew me...I don't do deals either, nor do I negotiate favors...I broke that rule and worked for Vogue in exchange for those imbeciles at Conde's Nast's silence and obviously it didn't work so I have come to you...but not for a deal..."

"What do you want then, a facelift? Because...You could use one, you know all of that brow-lifting seems to have left some cornfields on your forehead."

"Not that I am here to exchange jabs, although we all know that the reason you hide your crow-feet ridden eyes behind those tacky black sunglasses is not _just _to cover your reaction to fashion during a runway walk as stated in your reality show like movie the September Issue...But I digress...Like I said, I didn't come to spark a deal with you...I came to save your career..."

"Excuse me?" Ana rose to a dubious sneer, shaking her head in disbelief.

Wilhelmina smirked, pondering her successful career as an actress. No one would have known how nervous she was, how terrified she was of this not working and of her plan falling through like a fat person on a trampoline. And yet she smiled, trusting her ol' trusty nervous fallback: blackmail.

"Well Like you said, I seemed to be doing a great job at public humiliation and publicity stunts...But you...Oh if only the world knew your 20 year old little secret, You would knock me out of the park?"

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about." She scowled, biting back her choice words as her eyes stared back wide and unbeknownst her, a flicker of fear flew across her eyes in an instant and Willie knew that she had her.

"20 years ago, Bradford and Fey went on Hiatus and you...were quite the slut back then, weren't you?...Sleeping with a married man who already had a mistress...All you need is a maids uniform and you would have the perfect cheap romance novel..."

"You bitch..."

"From Jabs, to compliments...I can feel us getting closer...We're practically braiding each other's hair..." Wilhelmina feigned excitement before she frowned once more, returning to her usual seriousness.

"What does it matter? Your ex-fiancé is already dead..." She quipped, hoping to strike a nerve that, unbeknownst to her, had long numbed.

"Ah yes, but...The child isn't..."

"Ch-Child?" She sputtered between gulps.

"Claiborne...Claiborne Swanson...Let's see, you put her up for adoption immediately at the height of your career..."

"She went to a good home!"

"After 4 years of being in a that hell-hole of a foster home...Tell me Ana, how did it feel dining with the masses and wearing an outfit consisting of a bus driver's yearly salary while your child's idea of a home cook meal was oatmeal out-of-the-pack...And even before you do that, think about how the press...would react to the news that their beloved Ana Wintour has some publicity stunts and public humiliation of her own..."

"What do you want Slater?"

Wilhelmina smirked, leaning back against the plastic like chair, now having all of Ana's attention. "Like I said...You know what I want Wintour."

**OoO**

Wilhelmina exited Ana's room discretely, admiring the solitude of the V. I. P. ward, not knowing the full extent until she was on the outside looking in rather than her recent predicament. She curved the hallway and found Ariel, right where she expected, watching Daniel's press conference that he originally planned on having her attend. What she did not expect was to see Robert Sauerberg and Charles Townsend sitting beside her with their eyes as glued to the television as she was to them.

Catching a glimpse in her peripheral view, Ariel stood, handing her mother her bag before Townsend and Sauerberg noticed her as well...They stood, looking to each other before speaking.

"I just..." Robert Sauerberg spoke... "We...Just came to see Ana but the nurse said that you were already in with her."

Wilhelmina studied them meticulously, watching their laconicism groveling that beseeched her with her eyes. They looked a mess and their glares were tired yet she, after recovering from Hypovolemic and Cardiogenic shock, looked just-was well rested as she could be, her only act at the time, being of intimidation.

"Wilhelmina we...We just want to apologize for jumping to conclusions..."

"Why? The charges were dropped, that doesn't mean that I didn't do it...You don't know if I did it or not, all you see is the bottom line and right now that bottom line is saying that you don't know me...And because you don't know me...I am ending this conversation. Delete my number and forget...that I was ever a part of the Conde's Nast cooperation." She turned on her heels and stormed off, Ariel following closely behind with a wide grin...

"I think the fat one peed on himself a little..." Ariel chuckled and Wilhelmina smiled weakly, putting back on her sunglasses before they exited the coveted ward. "Put your sunglasses on...And look upset...We don't need any one to think I killed her too..."

They stepped out into the sun of camera lights flashing in their face, leaving Townsend and Sauerberg to watch the rest of Daniel's press conference, a program that Ana was tuning into as well. A program that the world was watching.

**OoO**

Daniel stood as an impressionable monument at the podium, his mother on one side behind him and Senator Slater on the other, Wilhelmina nowhere to be found. He understood that she had to recuperate but still selfishly wished that she was there with him. Although, what he did not know was that she wasn't at home, but _en route _to see him in action. He cleared his throat into the mic, tired eyes and all. He hadn't slept in days, only reliving a visual of his dream in jail as it replayed in his mind over and over again. He spent his days stressing over her every move, what she needed and fending off her independent attitude. Now he stood before what seemed like a thousand mics, about to give a press conference on HER case...His only thought being _If these fools still think that we're faking the our marriage than they're pure idiots._

"I..." He cleared his throat once again, looking down at his jumbled speech that no longer made sense to him. He looked out to the press once more before closing his speech folder, sighing heavily, much to public confusion. "One week ago, today I woke up in a jail cell...The last thing that I remembered was being told that my wife's heart had stopped...I didn't think about the trials, the lawsuits or our legal problems, my only concern at that point was if she would live to see another day...I didn't care about anything else...And I am disgusted with the press media for their insensitivity towards my family during this time. It was not about the charges held against her or I but it was about her wellbeing...Her state...Speculation has already begun about her whereabouts right now...But I don't need a publicist to let you know that it's none of your damn business." Muttering ensued and he ignored it, continuing on. "2 Days ago the charges against my wife were dropped on account of insufficient evidence and like the charges the subject needs to be dropped. The subject is no longer relevant and therefore would just be considered pointless to continually be discussed."

_"Mr. Meade!"_ An outspoken hand rose from the crows, her voice the only thing to be heard. _"Did you pay off Mr. Ambrossi?"_

Daniel leaned into the mic quietly. "No I did not..."

_"Can you elaborate on Wilhelmina Slater's reason for being hospitalized for such an extended amount of time?"_

_"Was it drug abuse?"_

_"Alcohol poisoning?"_

_"Syphilis treatment?"_

Daniel rolled his eyes, now getting annoyed. "No comment..."

_"Will you and your wife be engaging in any divorce proceedings.._

"No comment..." Daniel stepped back from the podium, more questions to be answered and palettes of curiosity to be filled. "Thank you..." He stepped down, Claire reaching for him as he left abruptly but for the life of her she couldn't catch him. He refused to stand there and be berated by the pompous press, only listening so they could have a template to spin and misconstrue. He refused to be a puppet; he refused to give them ammunition. He refused.

Walking out into the cold winter air that was New York, he was met by more flashing lights and pointed mikes. Pushing through the crowd, he made his way to his town car as it awaited him from the beginning. Closing the door and checking to make sure his coat didn't get caught. Picking his head up, he jumped back, seeing Wilhelmina on the other end staring at him blankly. "Holy shit!" He scrunched his eyebrows, not expecting her to sneak up on him like that.

"Why did you walk out Daniel?" She questioned sternly.

"How did you..."

She held up her phone. "Live streaming..."

"I don't know if that's creepy or clever..."

She shrugged. "It's both..."

"Why aren't you at home, in bed...Wilhelmina you-"

"I took care of some business...As tired as I am; I am not going to lie up in bed just because of some minor problems..."

"Minor problems?" She rolled her eyes, tired of hearing people list her ailments like a grocery list. All she wanted to do was forget. For a day, live without being told her fate, what she couldn't do and why she couldn't do it. She had never been controlled successfully and had no intention of allowing it to begin now. "You went into shock...your heart stopped...You had to be tied down to your bed to keep from thrashing forward and you lost 5% of your blood volume...You lost the-"

"Daniel." She stopped him immediately, his hype catching up with him.

He sighed, allowing his hands to wash down his face as he tried to alleviate at least some of the stress that he felt although it wasn't working very well. "I wasn't trying to make it seem like it was your fault..."

"I know...Can we just not go there right now..." She whispered softly, her attention turned to the passing yellow cabs and taxis.

He looked over, seeing her hand that rested on the console, neither of them choosing to say a word as his hand landed atop of hers, placing the cease on their conversation for the duration of the car ride. Yet after a 40 minute drive out to the secluded outskirts of Greenwich Village due to the simple fact that she refused to be a _Desperate Housewife._

"What are we doing here?" She questioned as he exited the vehicle and circled to her side where she was already exiting in curiosity.

He chuckled softly at her demeanor. "You're supposed to wait for the man..."

She looked out ads The Town Car pulled up and allowed her a closer view. "If I waited for a man every time I did something Betty would run Mode and Marc would have a wife." She looked at the home, always being familiar to her. "Daniel was is this?"

"I just thought that when you got home...You would actually like to come home...For the last 5 days Matt, Tyler, Marc, all the guys have been putting this house back together..."

"Marc?"

"Well I never said that he lifted anything...He delegated..."

She stood agape at the home, surprised that they had repaired it in time and that he had thought to do so. He pulled at her arm, leading her up the snow covered steps as they waltz through the foyer and she immediately looked up, not even noticing a patch in the wall. It looked terrific, everything where she would have personally placed it, thanks to Marc of course.

"The guys worked so har-" His words were deemed to be on a red light as she turned to him with a certain look in her eyes. They no longer heard the tumbling down the stairs or the scattered whispers. The only factors included her reflection he saw back in her eyes, the light breath that escaped them. They missed those moments. When they could just share and instantly know what the person was thinking, how they felt and just what they wanted to do...And he knew...What she wanted to do...But they couldn't, 6 weeks mandate. And she knew...But that didn't stop her from pressing her lips up against his as if she had waited a lifetime. It was like a first kiss...an exploration. Initially applied with soft, gentle pressure. His hands reached around her waist, gently pressing her body to his, her heart to his as if to mend hers with his own. Her fingers grazed his chest lightly as thy stood, locked in lips for what seemed like an eternity...As if they were rediscovering themselves, their relationship once more...As if they were rekindling the fire that has been dimmed with law suits, charges and light infidelity...All of this serious yet all of that, gone with just a soft gentle, brush of the lips. He didn't need to assault her lips and though she initiated the contact, she didn't need to wrestle with his tongue...They needed a mutual agreement, a meeting of the minds from the chills of their lips...An grievance to let go.

Though despite that, it was just an initial. As she felt him nibble lightly on her bottom lip, she knew he wanted more. As he felt the tentative caress of her tongue, he knew she wanted more. But they couldn't.

She craned her neck as his lips traveled down the trail left by her intoxicating perfume, inclining him to reach for her collar, pulling at her jacket.

But they couldn't.

Her hands reached up behind him, running the fields of his hair as if to pull at him. Yet instead her hands moved to his coat.

But they couldn't.

Her coat now off and his fully open, his arms wrapped around her enticing more as his lips ran dangerously close to her chest.

But they couldn't.

She smirked against his ear, biting down softly at the lobe rebelliously as she knew that she was not supposed to be doing what she was about to do.

But they didn't care.

She pulled apart from him, labored exhales contorting her as she gripped the flaps of his jacket forcibly as if to press him on to be aggressive. She crashed upon him, his movements pushing her against the door, cold from the weather yet hot from their touch.

"HOLY SHRIVER!"

And they wouldn't.

They immediately pulled apart to see Marc, clip board in hand as if he were truly the delegator over their little project. Wilhelmina picked up her coat with no shame, hanging it on the coat rack as Daniel took his off and hung it beside her. Soon, the rest of the crew filed in, all looking worried as if she had come back from the dead.

"Sooooo." Marc gestured at their surroundings. "What do you think?"

"I ate your Rocky Road Ice Cream!" Amanda blurted out, immediately covering her mouth afterwards, running off into the upstairs guest bathroom.

"She couldn't help herself...Poor thing..."Marc shook his head. "Craving the one thing that makes her sick...Pregnancy's a bitch."

He chuckled and Wilhelmina smiled weakly, acting as if she was unaffected yet Daniel knew better as she stiffened beside him, not expecting it to feel like a low-blow until it actually...did. She had numbed her emotions since finding out, became a doll to the subject after finding out, but didn't know the effect hat it would have on her until now.

"You know what...I am exhausted..." She spoke softly, her entire stance changing in that one instance. She was tired, her eyes read exhaustion, her body wilted and now her heart wept. All she wished was to meet her pillow in a one night stand.

"What do you need?"

"Are you going to faint?"

"Are you having chest pains?"

"Do you need a doctor?"

She stared back wide-eyes as they bombarded her with questions of concern. They didn't have to care, she thought. She didn't want them to care, she knew. They shouldn't care, she felt. She didn't know how to receive bombarding concern, she regretted. All she could do was shake her head, quickly retreating upstairs and away from the concern, away from a friend that she was no longer familiar with.

Opening the door to a bedroom that had become foreign to her, betrayed her, cave in on her and nearly dropped to the floor, she was alarmed by a running time bomb that was 2 feet tall with mid-brown hair, no longer in curls. Obviously brushed back, and held there on his back, she realized that it had been obviously cut and straightened. "Turn around..." He did so...multiple times with increased speed each go around until he met her eyes and realized that it was time to stop.

They stared at each other awkwardly, his eyes looking up to her adoringly as if not knowing how to approach her after not seeing her for such a long time. She looked down at him, only wanting to pick him up and shower him with affection yet her mind stopped her, yearning to see how he was going to play it.

He turned around, crawling onto the high bed, the success being a trial of 4 times before he was finally able to make it up there. In his black-grey striped shirt and jeans he laid back on the pillow and sighed. "Sleep..."

She chuckled, now wondering how he knew she was tired and if it was that obvious or was he just an intuitive little kid. Nevertheless, she climbed in there with him, lying beside him on the pillow next to him. He inched closer to her, finding a spot where he felt safe, protected, a mother's touch. Snuggling his head beside her he spoke, closing his eyes afterwards.

"I miss you."

**OoO**

They all sat in the living room, Wilhelmina still up stairs as they chatted amicably, awkward yet amicably. It was inching towards the evening, and there they sat, with the exception of Amanda who was sprawled across one of the couches as if she had the right. There was a tension, one that they were completely unsure of yet one that they knew existed.

"I hate men..." Amanda spoke candidly as she positioned herself to get up once again, feeling the burying against her throat and turmoil in her stomach. Daniel chuckled, hauling a Michelob as Tyler sunk down into his chair, avoiding her bitter eyes.

"So Marc..." Tyler spoke, trying to change the subject. "You're kind of quiet over there..." Marc looked up from his Martin glass, engulfed in his thoughts. Shrugging, he shook his head and acted as if it was nothing. "Oh c'mon YOU of all people being silent...Something must be wrong."

"No...I just..." He looked up, taking a second thought. "Excuse me..."

He got up from the couch, running up the stairs and away from the men who just shrugged as if he was never there to begin with. Little did he know, he was about to make his presence highly known.

**OoO**

He pushed open the double doors, faced with a luxurious, black and white bedroom set, the walls a blinding white, as well as the bedframe yet the sheets, a silky midnight black. As steam eroded from a corresponding door, Marc looked to the silk sheets that also held Izak, lying leisurely as if he had a tiring day with his running around and toy playing and all...Yup, totally exhausting.

"You look like Mason Kardashian..."

Izak stared back aimlessly, lifting his eyebrow as if he were his mother. He was clearly unimpressed. Marc shivered at the uncanny resemblance between the two of them and pointed to the bathroom door. "Is she in there?"

Izak nodded and Marc proceeded, opening the door as if he were her replication. Wilhelmina jumped, being sopping wet and completely stark naked, catching her right as she about to grab her robe.

"SWEETCHRISTMASCOOKIES!" He exclaimed, only because she had jumped. Realizing that she was naked he handed her the robe on the rack and she rolled her eyes, pulling it closely to her.

"Don't worry Willie, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Daniel would kill you if he heard you say that."

"Please, Daniel knows that those are not the chicken parts I like." Wilhelmina grimaced, stepping out of the bathroom as he followed closely behind her.

"Why are you up here?"

"You've...gained weight..." Marc observes as she tightens the robe around her, taking a seat on the bed with her right leg bended flat. She stared at him quietly, raising a brow and Marc shuddered, seeing Izak behind her doing the same thing..

"That's so creepy..."

"Marc...What do you want?"

"Since when do I have to want something to spend time with my lady love.." He joked, sitting beside Willie only to hear a rising growl from them. He scooted away, seeing Izak's hard face. "He's...protective..."

"Marc I am exhausted...Tell me what you want so I can go to bed..."

"I want to talk..."

"About what happened?"

"About you throwing a hissy fit with Daniel or you hanging up on me when I-"

"I cried for hours Willie..." He stopped her rant, not wanting to experience her upcoming wrath that she would have let rise had she continued. "When I thought that you were gone I cried for hours."

Wilhelmina removed herself from the bed, stalking across the room. She didn't want to discuss this. She didn't want to think about this. She wanted…to inkblot the memory from the database of her mind as if...it never happened and with people constantly bringing up her near loss of herself, it was becoming harder by the moment

"Fine...We won't go there but..." he stood up along with her."I do want you to accept my apology...Wilhelmina I have never felt so guilty..." She turned around, her back previously facing him. He had never so sparsely called her by her full name to her face, in a conversation, a casual conversation..

"I understand..."

"No Willie..."

"No Marc I get it...It took a lot for you to find someone that you thought was the one...You didn't want to give up so easily..." She smiled weakly. "I understand."

"Speaking of the one...He lost his license..." Wilhelmina sighed, now feeling the guilt jump on her. "...temporarily...The NYC medical board is pending on his removal but in the meantime it's just temporary..."

"Wilhelmina..." They both turned around and saw Daniel standing in the doorway. Marc nodded, exchanging a glance with his old boss before leaving the two to their business. He walked in the room slowly, seeing the gloom of her eyes as if to dread another person coming to disturb her possible slumber.

She sighed with the action of tying up her unwet hair, thanks to a covering, into a wear resemblance of a bun. She left his presence shortly only to return in a shocking ensemble.

"And you're wearing my clothes because..." He asked as she flipped back the covers and removed Izak's jeans down to a T-shirt and _long John _shorts.

"Aren't men supposed to find it sexy when their wives wear their frumpy getups..." She joked in allusion to her current grey sweatpants and white wife beater that was obviously not hers.

"Yes...Normal men...Normal wives...I remember precisely that the last time I suggest you lounge in sweats you responded with an attitude-y response of _I don't do sweats! If you're looking for a college freshman who is worked over from her midterms than look else wear because as long as I live Chanel and Silk shall always be my nightwear of choice not some cheap Joe Boxer getup from Sears."_

"I did not say all of that..."

"Oh you said all of that...And some other words that I'm leaving out in the presence of your twin..." He sat on the opposite side of the bed as she climbed slipped beneath the covers and Izak joined her, tired as well.

"Is there a reason why you're here?"

"I...live here..."

"That means nothing..."

"Fine then you don't get your present..." He goateed her, turning to leave before he felt a sharp presence in the back of his head,

"What the fu-" He turned around, seeing her wielding another T.V remote as if ready to strike again.

"Remember why I pitch at every Charity Softball game?"

"Yeah and now I'll remember to get a gel cover for the remotes, dammit that thing hurt..." He bent down to pick the discarded remote up only to find another one smacking him in the forehead. "Wilhelmina!"

"What present?" She whined childishly.

"No! You think you're getting it now? You freaking assaulted me with a-" His rant stopped when he saw her eyes soften, bottom lip poke out and body sink beneath the covers as if broken-hearted. How the hell could she be so damn evil yet so damn innocent all in the same breath? "What happened to _Babyyyyyy_?" He mocked.

"Well now you know me well enough for me to just look at you and you know when to speak and when to cower..."

"Oh so now I know you?"

"That's for you to decide...I mean we have had an...Interesting 2 months together...We've learned a lot about each other..."

"Well what if I want to know more?"

"What do you mean?"

"Meade Private Jet...Tomorrow morning...Aspen." He pulled three tickets from his back pocket and set them before her. "We need to get away...have a vacation...spend some time together."

"3 tickets?"

"Well we always leave him at home and I don't think he'll be separating from you any time soon..." His eyes redirected her to Izak who was linked around her waist, sound asleep and unwilling to move.

"What about work?"

"My mom can handle things while we're gone and Marc, and Amanda will watch the house."

"Great, we'll come home to a new living room and no food in the fridge."

"When do we have food in the fridge?"

**OoO**

_Okay so here is the deal, I don't know if anyone is reading anymore telling by the reviews so please let me know because if that is the case than I will just update every other day rather than wait for reviews to come in lol. I would like to know that people are still interested but if they aren't then I'm fine but it's there loss cuz I know what happens in the next 22 chapters and let me tell you, it will have you drunk on drama and reeling from it all…just saying! Lolol _

_Read and Review_

_**-NWJ**_


	18. Holding You Close In Distance

"We can go bike riding..."

"Ugh!"

"Take in the view from the top of Independence Pass."

"Seriously?"

"Bike or drive out to the Maroon Bells Scenic Area for one of North America's most photographed panoramas."

"..."

"Sign up for inspiring art and craft classes at Anderson Ranch Arts Center."

"Dear God."

"Learn how the West was really won at the bronco-bustin' Snowmass Rodeo."

"Have you lost your mind?" She snaps, whipping her head to face him as they sat, cornered in a two seat cubicle section of the plane. At first glance it looked mindless considering the vast expanse of its quarters but they requested it. The vast expanse may present a beautiful vicinity but lacks in serenity. Close knit, they stayed together in the mid-sized cubicle with Izak sleeping soundly beside them in the neighboring confinement.

His eyes starched intently on hers as if to question her actions. She had been so up and down lately that he had reduced his responses to poignant stares that seemed to reflect the curiosity of his mind without the repercussions brought on from what might spew from his mouth.

As if to be the dwelling place for the rising and falling of a tide, she quickly calmed down, allowing her hand to sweep her forehead quickly before her tense shoulders set back between the creased leather seat that seemed to be taking on the brunt of her frustrations. "I didn't mean to snap at you I just..." What did she say? What did she present? Overall, she detested his suggestions and yet had no other idea to present of her own. She didn't know how to proceed without a back-up plan but then again, with him she felt that she never had to be guarded. Over their years together, it began to thin slowly until as they sat together perusing the sky in a porcelain white aircraft, her wall was like a filmy white lining, only protecting her self-esteem and beauty...baring the rest for him to experience and discover for himself.

Smiling shortly, she patted his hand as if to distract him as her other motioning utensil pried the brochure from his fingers in a sharp fashion. "Daniel...as sweet...and thoughtful as you were to plan this trip...I...nor Izak wish to spend this overdue vacation in a museum learning about the Western history of Colorado..."

His mouth was in the beginning stages of a pout before he rethought his response and smiled softly, choosing a different route. "Well you have been asleep for the last three hours and so has Izak...What am I supposed to do why you two doze off other than plan corny familial activities..."

She looked up, inclining him to do so as well as her fingers snapped immediately and a 46 inch plasma began to descend 4 feet in front of them. Despite this, she refused to look in his direction with prior knowledge that he had the dopiest grin on his face for reasons she already knew. "I had it installed 3 months ago...For your monthly trips." She hands him a small T.V guide which he opens immediately to find an entire section highlighted.

"ESPN?"

She nodded. "Be a man...I give you permission..." She swung the remote in his direction and his face lit up with excitement as if he had been presented with Peyton Manning himself.

Immediately, he pressed the power button and Wilhelmina shifted in her seat. Her back now was turned against him as her head lay rested against the pillow that was propped up by the window of the sky. As her body began to relax and eyes drifted close once again Daniel's attention became enrobed in the sensation that filled his ears, only soon to realize that it was not whistling, cheering or announcers he heard, but a fast-talking reporter repeatedly saying a name.

The Senator's name.

_This morning the news broke that Senator of New York, Charles Slater had filed for divorce from his wife of 34 years in the midst of his retirement. The documents cite the startling split as being due to Irreconcilable differences with no further details allotted. Contact has attempted to be made with the splitting couple's publicist but they have declined a comment. The two have no children together disclosing two children from a previous marriage with Senator Slater. New York continues to stir as more information comes about..._

Had he not known her, he would have tapped her. Had he not known her, he would have shaken her awake. Had he not know her he would have tried to get her attention. But...Since he truly knew her...He was aware that her eyes had witnessed the same broadcast as him and her ears...Had heard the same words.

The excitement over the expensive electronic died down inside him as he watched her remove her seatbelt and shuffle passed him, to the restroom. "Excuse me." She muttered, especially silent considering they were the last words she would say for the rest of the flight.

**OoO**

He would expect her to be happy, ecstatic even over the dissertation of her father's flawed marriage; Happy, ecstatic over his freedom. Happy, ecstatic over having happen, what she had wanted for decades. That's why he couldn't understand why instead of smiles and laughter, he only heard her bowing before the Porcelain gods repeatedly as she gave them an offering of dinner from the previous night. The flight was only to last for 3 and a half hours and since she spent the bulk of it asleep, it wasn't a drastic loneliness for him to be there by himself for the rest of the duration; Yet when she did exit, pale and silent; When the plane landed, still and slow. Something had changed. The atmosphere had shifted and was no longer conducive to their vacation, yet befitting for grievances...That quickly, something had changed...That quickly.

The Town Car ride was silent. The elevator ride was silent. He did all the talking, the greeting. He guided her through the press as they swarmed the traveling couple. Yet they didn't bother him. They were like fruit flies; annoying? Yes. But so small that their actions seem irrelevant even in the heat of the moment. As they approached their quarters at Check-In, he knew that there was something wrong. She loves Aspen, hell she adores Aspen. The snow, the cold, the ambiance, she tells no one because it's Colorado and she is a NYC monarch but...She loves it there. But she does not comment on the snow...the cold, nor the ambiance. She ignores the blinding fluorescent beams that adorn the outside as mid-day begins to reign in a dimming light. She denounces comments on the swooping arches and detailed structure of the Janore Hotel, luxurious in presence and Ludacris in price. She misses all of this, only choosing to follow silently behind him with a bellhop pulling their luggage on a golden levy as Izak clings tightly to her hand.

Once inside their room, nothing changes. Izak runs through the rooms, absorbing the space that consumes them yet Daniel continues, stuck in the foyer. HE only watches as she stumbles around, not even glancing down to where the bellhop places her things. She looks numb, as if struck by a force field that killed her nerves and her sense...of nerve.

Once the attendant leaves, his coat is at the door, next to hers and she watches as Izak organizes his clothes like a grown man, coordinating them by color and size. He was having a party with one attendant. Himself. She smiles inside and shrugs beneath her cold exterior as if deciding not to stop him or rain on his fun parade. She sat on the bed quietly, kneading the silk comforter that lie on top, tucked snugly beneath the mattress on its ends. She, seemingly matching, wore a tan blazer over a white loose shirt that was shielded by a drooping scarf and complimented by nude boots and light-wash jeans. She was as casual as she could be in a foreign situation but definitely not as calm...as she could be.

"I need to be honest with you.." She blurts at his back. He spins to turn around, now glad to finally hear her voice after what seemed like a lifetime. "You want to know me?" She asks with an arched brow of attitude and a voice dripping in resent, as if to challenge him. Challenge his will to learn her, like her...love her...

He nods and she opened her mouth to speak but found it too difficult to look in his eyes. Her gaze drops to that dark orange scarf that hung around her neck and focuses on its soft material that hugs her neck and distracts her from her own responsibilities. "My mother died when I was 12 years old..."

He had never known what happened to her mother. She was never mentioned...As if a blackened out word from a government document, she was forbidden it seemed...Until now.

"It...It was September 11th...And it was...it was snowing...and she was tired...The Senator was stuck at the office, working on his campaign for the city council. I was angry because Renee's birthday was September 9th and my mother asked me if I was okay with a store bought cake because she had just made Renee a cake and was too...tired to make mine...She said..._Wanda I'm just so...tired..._" She shook her head, now refocusing on the wall as a chuckled emaciated her lips. "You know, when I see her face now and I hear her voice...I realize that she wasn't just talking about fatigue...She was tired of me...Renee...Dad..."

He was silent. For one, he had never heard her refer to the Senator as anything other than the Senator and the coldness...in which she presented this new synonym sent his body into a frozen state as she spoke.

"But I was stubborn...And I ran into my room and closed the door, angry with her. I thought she liked Renee better...the pretty sister...The goody-two-shoes...Dad's favorite...I thought that I was getting cheated. So I went into my room, I took my schoolwork out of my book bag and I started to pack. I was going to runaway...I had an ATM card, I had friends...I was street smart...I was confident that I could make it...I remember 2 hours later Renee sitting at the kitchen table finishing up her homework while I tried to sneak out...the front door of course for whatever reason, I don't know...But something stopped me. The doorbell rang...I opened the door to this pair of men staring at me with my book bag hoisted on my shoulders, my cheeks stained from angry tears...I turned around and realized that...that Dad had come home finally and he stood in front of me, pushing me behind him. I dropped my bag to the floor and peered between his arm and the door, watching him talk to these men before I soon realized them to be police officers...I listened to their conversation and stood still as he closed the door behind him. He saw me...He knew...what I heard...I was going to cry but he told me to dry my tears but I didn't because I saw his own eyes well up...Renee was already crying but he...he wouldn't let me mourn her..." She looked up at the ceiling as if to be pushing back tears. "While I was packing to leave, to run away from her...escape who, in my mind was the worse person in the world...She...this witch...had gone out into the snow...and to the only store she knew to be open…She bought...vanilla cake mix...chocolate icing...a pink 1..." Her bottom lip quivered dangerously as she came to the part that she never chose to relive or think about. "...and a white two...All she could afford with the leash that dad had her on and the only thing that they had...She went to pay for them and...she saw the gunman...She had been oblivious that whole time...Until then...He asked her for her money and she had no more...He didn't believe her...He killed her immediately...no hesitation...She could have given over her wedding ring...her necklace..her ...her anything...but she told him that she had nothing...As if nothing on her was worth her life...could take its place...When they found her body...the police told my father that all she had on her was the cake mix, the frosting, the candles...And my birthday card...that had 200 dollars inside..." She shook her head at her mother's actions. "She...She gave up her life for a blood stained birthday card...IF she had given him the money...she would be alive...If I hadn't acted like I did...She would have never left...""

"You can't blam-"

"Let me finish..." She silences him with a small whisper. "13 months later this woman...I am told is to be my new step mother comes to the house...her name is Lisa...I tell my father that I hate her but what does he do?" Her sad tone soon resonates to true anger, her fists clenching as if to be feeling Lisa's neck with their grasps.  
>"... He marries her...And credits me with every argument they have until one day...He sits me down, the bitch clenching at his shoulder as he stared at me...and utters his famous line. <em>Wanda New York City Is no place for a maturing girl as myself...<em>In other words, _My wife hates you and you're keeping me from happiness so get the fuck out..._Give or take a word...But now. He's divorcing her...because of me...And...It just...It just brought up some old feelings...and fears...That I don't wish to go through again."

He wanted to know her, he claimed. Did he regret that now? Now that he knew the sordid truth of her past...Her true past. Not the evil deeds she did but what made committing those deeds so easy...She hated humanity...He could see it in her eyes. Humanity killed her mother. Humanity stole her father from her and Humanity...blackened her heart.

"You don't have to respond..." She smiles weakly as if to fill in for the awkward tingling she felt in her body. "I know it's a lot but I wanted you to know why, on this vacation I have to tell you everything...I can't hide anything from you anymore...Lisa was a snake, she was sneaky and most of all, she hid everything from my father..."

"You're nothing like Lisa..."

"I don't have to be...not to have our marriage dissolve...And to keep that from happening I am going to be completely honest with you because obviously, we've had our share of secretive experimenting lately and it hasn't worked out."

He nodded, now feeling more comfortable to cross the imaginary battle lines that he had felt her cross as she spoke though he soon realized that they weren't to separate her and him...IT was to separate them and the world.

"Are you ready?"

"Shoot."

"When I tell you just say thank you."

"Thank you?"

"Your trial is no longer in a week."

"What do you mean?"

"There will be no trial."

"What?"

"Ana dropped the charges; they will announce it tomorrow after they call you."

"What? Why?"

"Just say thank you..."

"What did you do?"

"Just say...Thank you.." Her stare pierces him deeply, seeing the red strains that stain them as she courses him to say what she wants him too.

"Thank you..."

She nods and gets off of the bed, walking to the dresser where her bag laid, phone inside. "Thank you.." She picks up her phone and appears to be dialing a number.

"No seriously Wills..." He continues, but finds his ear mashed by the coolness of her blackberry against his lobe.

"Secret number 2..." She mumbles as she exits the bedroom and enters the bathroom past Izak and he watches curiously before engaging in his supposed activity yet no helping to be stunned by how quickly she bounced from emotion to emotion.

He sat on the edge of the bed, listening intently. With each word, his fist clenched. With each sentence, his teeth grit. With each thought, his head throbbed. HE couldn't hear any more, allowing the person to speak on and on as if it were a marathon of the mouth. His fingers moved to end the call after about what seemed like 20 minutes. His feet moved towards where she stood in the mirror, reapplying her face. His shoulder moved towards the doorway for a rest stop as he absorbed the information that he was presented with.

Noticing his glare, she was poised with the option of facing him or ignoring him and she chose the latter...somewhat. He saw her eyes watch him in her reflection yet knew that she couldn't look him in the eye but only an allusion of his eyes. "I'm sorry...about your mother..." He sympathized quietly. He didn't know her. HE didn't know her pain. As drunk as his mother was, he still had her. As horrible as his father treated him, at that time he still had him...He had a relationship with Alexis when she was Alex...He realized that all of those years between them that circulated their hatred...Was because she envied him...he had everything that she wanted. HE had the parents, the sibling and the dream job...Wilhelmina Slater envied Daniel Meade...And that was her way of telling him..Not saying it outright but allowing him to put the pieces together without her stepping out of character to do so.

Nevertheless...Their feud seemed less trivial. Her schemes seemed less childish...He now understood the gas in her car, the motor in her boat and the reason...for her actions...This was what he was talking about...Really knowing her...And yet that was only the beginning...

"That phone call...Are we suing?" He questioned seriously, wanting no more than to call up Senator Slater within the moment but thought it better to consider her feelings first.

She shook her head softly, turning around before hopping onto the bathroom counter to face him, no longer wishing to converse through the back of her body and heels of her shoes. "It's not worth it..."

"Are you sure?"

"They fired the intern Daniel...it's over.."She shook her head, remembering that bright and early morning.

_"Dr. Smith called and made sure that you receive that utmost care and privacy..."_

_"It's just a small checkup...To make sure I can still fly, right?"_

_"Of course...We're just going to run a few small tests to ensure the strength of your heart and to make sure that everything's normal before you go on this trip...Just to be cautious.."_

_"Okay..."_

_"Is your husband here?"_

_"No he's packing...Why is there a problem?"_

_"No we just find that patients tend to be a little groggy after testing and you might not want to drive..."_

_"Oh, I have a Town Car..."_

_"Good...Good..." That annoying Dr. Spears seems to be less annoying when Daniel isn't around. More enjoyable, comforting, although the question about Daniel does spike an ire just a nerve. I remove that same tan blazer and orange scarf to leave just my white shirt that Dr. Spears slips her hand beneath, resting the rear of her stethoscope to the warmth of my back. "Just breathe in..." She instructs, listening intently to what seemed to be staggered clouds in my lungs. "And out..." She repeated the process several times, anxiety growing within me, unknowing of the situation...They drew blood, ran more tests, yet cooled it on the blood considering the fact that I just had a major transfusion anyway. These people may be more intelligent than what I give them credit for….Maybe….._

_"Ms. Slater we'd like to do pelvic exam..."_

_"For?"_

_"We...Wanted to do a full examination to ensure that your whole body is in check rather than having you come back and forth for various check-ups."_

_"You do realize that I have a plane to catch?"_

_"It will be quick...Not rushed...but quick."_

_I want to refuse but find myself obliging considering my latest medical adventures and feel in no place to refuse medical treatments. Yet I still roll my eyes at the sight of stirrups but I soldier on despite my yearn to kick Dr. Spears' face in with my amazingly sturdy boots for making me stay longer than I was promised. God, I hate people. After the exam I am once again left alone in my casual shirt in jeans, amped up by my limited edition Louboutin boots that Daniel gave me for Christmas last year...I wonder if he'll be able to top it this year. To fill my time, I decide to put on my blazer and scarf yet out the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of Dr. Spears and Dr. Smith bickering. He looks like a tomato when he gets mad. And before I knew it, they were entering the room._

_"I thought that you were suspended?" I question his presence, especially jeans and a t-shirt. Since when did the doctor dress like the patient?_

_"I was...I am...But Dr. Spears called me and informed me of a...problem and thought it best that I be the one to tell you."_

_That scared of me huh? "What kind of problem?"_

_"When you were admitted last week...All of the attending physicians were tending to your cardio needs and the Obstetric Attending was tied up, as were the residents so an Intern...did your examination."_

_I narrow my eyes, partially because I fear for what he says next but mostly because Dr. Spears looks like a Plum when she gets nervous. "And?"_

_"And he missed something..."_

_"Missed what?"_

"Wilhelmina how stupid is it not to run a blood test...Or pelvic examination?" Daniel questioned, trying to hide the agitation heavily present in his voice.

"I know.."

"Or thorough ultrasound."

"I know."

_I stare in disbelief, trying to remain calm. "And if he would have done a pelvic exam?"_

_"If Dr. Marston would have done a pelvic exam he would have discovered that your cervix was severely irritated, most likely from stress and/or heavy lifting which I presume to be from the move to the old house..."_

_"And the hemorrhage?"_

_"Stress and Cervix combination caused your heart to fail which triggered an Arterial shock leading to a severe blood loss which was like a ticking time bomb from the side-effects of the previous medication." HE hints._

_"So what are you trying to say?"_

_"I'd have to ask Dr. Matson about the ultrasound but...Ultimately, you're still pregnant."_

"The ultrasound?" He questioned softly, playing with the cosmetics in her bag as she swatted his hand with authority.

She smiled weakly, still looking at him through the reflection. "Now that...was actually kind of funny."

_"Okay, Dr. Marston show us what you did when first examining Ms. Slater." Dr. Smith suggested as Wilhelmina I lay up on a new table in a whole new wing of the hospital strictly devoted to radiology. The nervous thing called an intern comes blathering my way and asks me a stuttering motion to lift my shirt. I comply without the quip of how freaking idiot this man is being on the tip of my tongue. I'm actually learning restraint. Then I kick him swiftly without Dr. Spears taking notice. Did I say restraint? I meant rage._

_The idiot brings out the familiar machine and we all stare directly into the black essence on the screen that is supposed to be my womb. All those years of Claire telling me how dark I was on the inside...Old dirt bag finally got something right._

_"Se-Se-Seee..." HE points shakily at the screen as he swerves the icky crap around my abdomen like a damn hovercraft. Did I mention how much I hate people yet? Because I do. "I-I-I can't find it..."_

_Marc's hotdog comes closer and takes over, circling around even the more as if to be looking for something. "The heartbeat?" The idiot nods. Dr. Smith sighs as he moves to the other side of me and asks me to shift to the left and I do so before he allows a resounding noise fill the air and Dr. Spear's dramatic self sighs in relief as Dr. Smith snapped around angrily in the idiot's direction. "That's because you're on the kid's ass!"_

_And I lunge at him. The idiot that is._

"Is this why you looked so angry when you got to the airport to meet me?"

"That and, they called security...But in my defense, I had barely touched him and the kid was already cowering on the floor...So your nose gets a little nagged up, you're supposed to be a doctor so get over it..." She chuckled softly and realized that he shared a different sentiment. His face was solemn, his ears were red and his expression, the real rage of the two.

He was furious. Furious with the medical system. They had been failed, they had been duped. They had been cheated, they had been lied to and deceived. They wasted tears, they wasted thoughts. They mourned the life of something that had not yet succumbed to death. He had given up on a dream...Forgotten about it so quickly. Through his reflection, she watched his eyes shift around and read his heart, read the sorrow...This was not how she pictured telling him or how she imagined his expression. Yet, nothing seemed to be going right lately anyway.

He watched her quietly, not allowing the happiness to fill him as of yet. He knew how it felt to be stripped of a purpose and refused is allowance once more. His endeavor now stood to guard her, to protect her, to ensure...that at the end of it all...They would parent not one, but two children.

HE pulled her into a gentle embrace and she sighed into his shoulder as he held her waist closer to him. She just wanted the moment to be over and the awkward feeling to be gone, Yet it still lingered and for that reason, they did not jump around, sob nor smile...but just stayed locked in each other's embrace...For they knew that though they had one the battle...they had not yet won the war.

**OoO**

The sloping mountains that seemed to be resting on the shoulders of its neighbors, equally encased in the pearly white substance that was snow yet was soft as if to be a fur blanket sprawled across the horizon that was Aspen Colorado. IT was impossible to ignore the essence, the serenity...the peaceful break away that surrounded you as you swing around in a circular compartment that is hoisted high in the air, slowly allowing you to see the natural beauty, untouchable by man. Some call it romantic...Some called it adventurous, amorous, bathetic, charming, chimerical, chivalrous, colorful, corny, daring, dreamy, enchanting...romantic.

"I hate you..." Wilhelmina mumbled beneath her fur coat as she sat scooted all the way on the other side of the bogie, traveling above the little ants that were people. Her nose red, body shivering and only warmth being that of her hands as they clasped tightly to her hot chocolate as Daniel's face was pressed up against the glass, little hints of his breath appearing as glass on the thin reprint of his face that stared back at him. Like a child, he was enamored with the skiers below, charming little shops and passersby. His wife?...Not so much.

"You know, just because _Newsweek _called me the ice queen does not mean that I want to freeze my ass off in 20 degree weather!" She scowled angrily, pulling the brown fur closer to her neck. She had changed those lovely Christmas presents boots to the worst thing on Oprah's Favorite things list. UGG boots. When she opened that on Valentine's Day she threw the box at the wall and the boot...at his face.

Though today she wore them, her toes curled up against the meshed fur inside as she attempted to raise her body heat to an acceptable level. "And they say pregnancy gets you special treatment..." She scoffed and he looked at her shortly, surprised at her comment. He wasn't aware of how quickly she could get over things. Though it would seem taboo at first, she knows that it is a reality and would rather accept it than dance around it.

He could have gotten quiet, mournful, sulky but...he had to ask himself who he was grieving? Their child? The child that they still had? The child that he never stopped loving? The child that he could now, never get off of his mind?...He had no answer because...He was mourning nothing...mourning in irrelevance...and he had to force himself to stop.

"How are you so damn cold and you have on a thicker coat than me?"

"Because dumbass, despite my ability to restrain from crying when getting an shot...The male skin is thicker so get your pale ass over here and be my fucking fiery furnace!"

"You're so lovable when you curse me out..." He smirked, inching towards her with his long coat open, pulling her into him. "And by the way...I did not cry.. it was a tear and it was out of habit.."

"Daniel I was there, Smith had to give you a lollipop to calm down..." She rolled her eyes yet found herself even closer to him, still clutching her cup as her feet tucked behind his legs.

"Says the woman whining about a little weather..."

"Don't take for granted, our being over the First Aide station...there are some injuries a Band-Aid can't fix." He chuckled, planting a kiss before her eyes as his hand moved to take her cup and place it into the cup holder. "Hey! That was my only..." Her objections were ceased as his mouth found hers in a rhymatic fashion and the aborted warmth from her hands were now replaced with the grasp she now had on his cheeks. She pulled away shortly between labored breaths, a smile on her lips. "..You...You have the cheeks of a Gerbil..." She pinched at his chubby face and he rolled his eyes playfully before settling her back down on the seat of the lounge, feeling a shift beneath him. Her eyes snapped open and her arms thruster against his chest as if to push him off of her as she felt it as well.

"Did you feel that."

"No." He lied, aiming for her lips once again but only felt her palm. "Your hands are freezing." He mumbled beneath her skin as she peered above the titled window to realize that it was them...that were tilting...Immediately she got up and the compartment leveled out as she went back to her side, snatching her cup from its holder.

"Maybe it was our combined weight."

She cut her eyes in his direction and he shrugged before feeling a heating presence on his pant leg before jumping at its rising temperature. "Dammit Willie!" He squealed, realizing that she had thrown her cup at him and its contents had spilled on his legs.

She lifted her feet beneath her to avoid the spilling liquid as she warmed herself up. "You wanted a baby, you get hormones with the package, deal with it!"

He was wet. He was probably slightly burned. But he smiled...because he was also dealing with it.

**OoO**

"I don't want it!"

"Izak, I put it on your plate so eat it!"

"I don't want it!"

"Izak! If you don't eat it...No dessert."

"Keep wur stinkin dewert!" He stormed away from Daniel's ordered broccoli plate from him and attempted to slam the closet door but found that it took several tries. Daniel rolled his eyes and looked to Wilhelmina who was as good as asleep as she clutched a pillow in her stolen sweats that she refused to give back to him and her white shirt.

"Why is he being like this?"

"Because we didn't take him with us."

"Well he's afraid of heights! We couldn't!"

"Daniel...I know that...We know that...The 3 year old in the closet...He doesn't know that."

"3 AND 3 QUATTAS!"

She gestured at the closet. "See what I mean? Aspen resentment." Her head planked back down on her pillow as her eyes longer for rest and her body ached for comfort yet she felt guilty sleeping during this vacation when he had planned so much.

"Are you going to sulk this whole time?" She questioned.

"Are you going to sleep this whole time?" He challenged.

"Daniel...It's called a vacation...You're supposed to sleep..." He wanted to retort but the look in her eyes stopped him immediately. He didn't know why he was irritated with the fact that she spent their time together sleeping or why he minded but he did and the fact that she didn't care was beginning to piss him off.

But he left her alone and ate his family meal at the provided dining table, an attitude flourishing within his mind. Finishing off his meal, he dumped the container in the garbage and left Willie and Izak's plate in the fridge before finding himself in the bedroom once again. As he took off his shoes on the edge of the bed, he was disturbed by the up and down movements of the bed that began to rock him back and forth.

He turned around and was frozen at her state, the hair caked to her face and sweat washing her face as she twisted and turned in her sleep. Restlessly, she moved as if to be fighting off the invisible, the enemy, the unsalable. Mumbling his name, she was weak in voice and strong in fear. Her tone descended to a plea before his mind won out and his hand touched her after not being able to bare that state of her mind. Again, he asked himself;_ do you really want to know her Daniel?_

She lunged forward, feeling that unnatural pressure on her shoulder. Disoriented, she looked around frantically and breathlessly as if to be confused. His hands grabbed at her shoulders and pulled her to face him and he looked into her eyes, strained with red to look purple against her blue eyes. He realized...why she was sleeping...Because she couldn't at home. She couldn't rest, she couldn't even close her eyes without seeing his face staring back at her and for this...he made a mental note to never bitch about her sleeping anywhere.

But the problem at hand...Her trembling figure, her wild eyes...He had to force her to look at him, to ensure her of her safety, of his love for her and of her identity. He had to take a moment...And realize that the woman who bounced off of her emotions...who hid behind quips and jabs...that wasn't her...The real her was broken...The real her laid in a hotel bed wet with slumber sweat. The real her was frantic with the smallest inclination that she was again in the presence of Rodrigo Ambrossi. The real her looked to him for assurance in the wake of a nightmare...The real her...needed him...whether she admitted it or not.

She looked helpless, trying to grab her bearings as her eyes blinked in and out of the events that reoccurred in her mind. He was cautious, remembering that the last time he made a sudden movement during a time like this he ended up against a kitchen counter top. His hands moved delicately to her soaked T-shirt and lifted above her head to find that her body wasn't sticky and the extent was of the damp shirt material. It was cool and he found himself unbuttoning his blue dress shirt and pushing her arms through the sleeves as he lay down beside her.

He pulled her tight to him, assuring her of his presence, of her safety. She had awoke as a shell of herself, an extinct aspect of her personality better left to the forbidden closet of her past...The Forbidden closet that they seemed to be visiting quite often as of late.

He held her tight as he tucked them beneath the covers and his eyes peered over to see that Izak had emerged beforehand and was already in the twin bed in the other room. He was glad, not wanting him to witness anything he didn't need to. In that moment, his arms wrapped around her and her head found his chest before speaking since she awoke.

It was in that moment that despite what is visible to the public, despite what is portrayed to the public...She had let him in on a little secret that he was now decoding...Between the two of them...He did have the thicker skin.

"Daniel?"

He held her.

"Hmm?"

She quickened against him as if to hold tighter.

With a soft whisper and a shaky exhale she found her strength to speak and will to open up. "Don't let go."

He would never.

**OoO**

_I love you guys sooooo much. You can't even fathom my amazement of how you guys review when I need support. You have absolutely no idea how much it means to me. And speaking of having No Idea, you better read Vanessa Williams' book because it is something fierce lol! I am telling you, I read it in 4 hours nonstop….BUY IT! If you can't afford it but have like a Nook or Barnes and Noble App message me and I'll see if I can share it with you because it is something to be read!_


	19. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone

The following two days are filled with sleeping and crying. The snoring encompasses me. The crying disturbs me. She never used to snore...Nor did she cry. Things change in the night...She turns and stirs with the lightest of touches and jolts forward with the gentlest of whispers. She is different in the night.

When she awakes, it is as if nothing has happened...All she does is sleep and play with Izak. Why are we here? Why did we come to Aspen? I don't want to bitch about her sleeping all the time but she is ignoring me at all costs. I suggest dinner and she is too tired, I suggest dancing and she is too tired, I suggest a walk and she is too tired, I suggest TV and she is too tired. She doesn't want to do anything with me and it is beginning to piss me off.

She has an attitude too. She rolls her eyes more than usual and mocks me when I say something that she doesn't want to hear. She's like a child really, rallying against me. I don't know what to do! It is as if she remembers nothing and acts like I did nothing for her. When she wakes up it is like she doesn't remember me holding her in her sleep, letting her wipe her tears with the length of my t-shirt...All she does is scowl and stare at me as if I killed Marc.

"What's your problem?" She asks me one day when I return her scowl with a stare of my own.

My problem? She's the one sizing me with my every move. "My problem? My problem is that I got this whole vacation together for you and all you do is sleep, play with our son and ignore me!" I realize that I'm yelling at her but I start to not care. She's pissing me off.

What does she do? What does she do when I explode on her? She rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to Izak who is playing hot potato with her as if he didn't hear me either. "Wilhelmina!" I'm calling her by her full name...She should know I'm serious...And she doesn't look up, just laughs when Izak misses her hands for the umpteenth time and he growls in frustration...

"Wilhelmina!" I call again and she doesn't respond. "Two days ago we were all over each other in a buggy and today you decide to ignore me as if I'm not here?"

She looks up at me smugly as if I'm no more than the dirt on the bottom of her boots. "Not just today...I ignored you yesterday too..."

"Why!" I deserve to know... I do deserve to know!

She looks to Izak and whispers in his ear. He looks back at me and runs over, hugging my legs before running to the second room of this ridiculously large hotel space. It's almost as big as her old apartment. They were sitting on the floor and she stays there, looking less intimidating without makeup, hair in a messy bun and wearing my sweats that she has mysteriously washed every day. She is less intimidating until her eyes narrow down on mine and she helps herself up by pushing up from the ground. "Because you're an asshole..."

I'm floored...I arranged this vacation...I rock her to fucking sleep every damn night for crying out loud when she has those nightmares EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and I'm an asshole? I'm A FUCKING ASSHOLE?

"Yes you're an asshole." Oh so she reads minds now.

She settles down on the bed as if she is about to go to sleep and I about lose it. I know I said that I wouldn't bitch about her sleeping but goddammit I want answers and she is not going to give me any sleeping night and day. I stare at her as if to wait for what I so desperately want and yet instead of closing her eyes like I expect her to she just shakes her head at me before rolling off of the bed.

"I'm going home." She states flatly before rushing into bathroom and slamming the door angrily behind her. And all I can say is...Well I can't say anything! I don't know what the hell I can say. She...She's nutso...She's crazy..She's hormonal..She wants to go home and I can do nothing but oblige her because as much as I paid for this room, I can't stand another day of being confined to a silent room with her not speaking with me.

I see her an hour later after I confirmed the Jet and called the check-out desk. I packed my things, Izak's things and left her things alone with the fear that she might want them a certain way. When she exits she's dressed in a Gray stretch-jersey..Asymmetric off-the-shoulder cut, single twisted shoulder strap, gathering and draping with pleated silk-chiffon maxi culottes...What? I used to be a fashion Editor? I can't help but pick up on how incredibly...simple her outfit is. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail and those pants shield her...flat boots. She's not dressed up, but she's pissed I know. I see that Izak came with her and he is dressed as well.

She looks at me as if I am the antichrist when she passes and crosses to her luggage as she packs deridingly putting her clothes in no particular order...I could've done that. While she does that, I do a clean sweep of the hotel room to make sure that she or I didn't forget anything. I see her wedding band on the sink and it angers me. I think she intended for me to see it...To get a rise out of me...Make me think she is trying to make a statement.

I charge back in the room but stop when I see her, hands on the wall as she breathes in as if to ward something off...She does this for minutes at a time, stopping her packing process for what seems like every 6 minutes to breathe in a uniformed fashion. After about the 4th time, she sees me and zips her suitcase as if she never even met my eyes.

I check out. We ride the jet silently and don't dare to share the same compartment. The ride home is silent. The paparazzi is prevalent. She pretends not to see them and I silently thank myself for making the decision to install the gate and security booth during to renovation of the house to avoid paparazzi at our front door…..like before.

We barely make it to a stop before she is out of the Town Car and in the house. I let the driver get our bags and follow her upstairs. I want answers.

I touch her arm and she turns around, Izak at her side. He looks at me and runs into his room as if to be signaled with my eyes. She crosses her arms and stares directly at my eyes for the first time since this impasse. "Is this not what you wanted?"

Her voice is low, it's a whisper and the words...they confuse me. "What do you mean?"

"A baby...Is it not what you wanted?" Her eyes study mine as her teeth clench behind her lips and I sigh, trying to touch her but she backs away again. "Don't...touch me right now."

"What did I do?"

"For the past three days you've been a whiny bitch." I step back now. Her voice...it's not her anymore...It's Wilhelmina...the old...Wilhelmina.

"What?" It's all I could say.

"When I don't want to go to dinner, you bitch. When I don't want to go on a walk, you bitch. When I don't want to dance, you bitch. When I don't want to watch TV, you bitch."

"Are you calling me a bitch or are you saying that I bitch?"

"Daniel I am 8 weeks pregnant..." She shouts at me, before counting off things on her finger. "I don't want to go to dinner because I have morning sickness, noon sickness, night sickness, every damn minute sickness. I don't want to walk because I tired as hell! I don't want to dance because the world spins when I stand up and I don't want to watch T.V because I'm so damn emotional I cry every time an ASPCA commercial comes on! This was supposed to be a vacation...You said that it was my vacation...That you did it for me but all you did was bitch...In both senses."

She storms off and leaves me to my thoughts. I do have questions. For one, when did she start having these symptoms and why didn't she tell me? Had she suspected long before that she was still pregnant and found it decent to just inform me? Was I so oblivious...Insensitive even to not realize these changes? Were the last two days filled with more than sleeping and crying and I ignored the rest because I felt that I had done my duty in the night...That paying attention was not needed after staying awake for most of the night consoling her? Where did I fail?

**OoO**

The last thing I remember is getting pissed at Daniel, slamming the door and taking two Bayer Aspirins to numb the pain in my chest. I assume that he left me alone until I realize the dramatic silk-jersey maxi dress, with its vivid aquamarine hue and plunging neckline flowing over the sheets that secure my body. I know I didn't go to sleep with the covers and figure that he put me beneath them. Beside me lies a card that I reach for and its cool scent reminds me of him as I open it to find his forkful handwriting telling me to get dressed and get in the town car downstairs. There is a moment that I consider ignoring it. Making him wait wherever he is...But as quickly as I consider it, I realize how childish it is and the effect of it only prolonging our impasse and solving nothing.

So I force myself up and read the note again, seeing the P. S that Claire has Izak. My head spins as I bring my legs about from sitting up too quickly and I ask myself again how it took me so long to see Dr. Spears with these tell-tale symptoms. After making myself get dressed and do my hair, in which I simply part down the middle with thick curls coming down my shoulders in loose waves. I stare for a second, wearing this turquoise dress that compliments my new D sized chest which is annoyingly painful. I try to convince myself that I look good, Pamela Anderson boobs and all but I just feel...bad. I can't even describe it accurately...I just want to be back home as soon as possible and hope I don't have to kill Daniel for doing something stupid. Before I leave, I take one final look at myself and unsnap my coat to reveal that dress once more. Reluctantly...I put my hands where I haven't dared to go...On my stomach. I flat out the material and realize the arched shape and again question why I didn't realize any of this before. As if I was purposely ignoring the signals...Maybe I- I don't know...And now I'm rambling...I have to go...If I have to hear him bitch any- I chuckle...I called my husband a bitch today and I don't even regret it...I vented...I wasn't just calling him a bitch...I was talking to Lisa...I was talking to Ana...I was talking to Sauerberg, I was talking to Townsend...And I was talking to Rodrigo...Today I vented...I called my husband a bitch. And it felt good.

**OoO**

The car drops me off in front of a hacienda looking edifice that slopes over into a diagonal halt. It reminds me of the Aspen mountains and for a second I wish that I had stayed and relished in what I usually enjoy so dearly. But there is no time for that now. Now I have to see why I am here and what Daniel wants. The driver leads me into the mysterious area and out to the back where there is a beach, little frost bits gathered on the sand as the ocean pushes ice sheets back and forth upon the shore. It's chill, but not too cold as I take a seat at this two person table with a classically corny romantic setup. There are candles, there are roses but no food...Just ginger ale and crackers.

Just when I think he forgets. Simple? Yes. Dull? Yes? Middle Class? Yes? Do I care at all due to the simple fact that it alleviates morning sickness? Hell no.

I'm downing the last cracker with a gulp of that belchy soda before my bitch joins me...Okay, okay I know...too far...But in my defense, I haven't been coming up with a lot of quips lately so I need something to cling to and bitch is it...Okay...Okay I'll stop.

My eyes glance up at him and he's wearing a white button down shirt and tan khakis that are belted by a snake embossed brown belt that match his shirt. For minutes we are silent, my hair being lifted slightly by the passing breeze as his is tussled by the wind.

"How do you feel?"

"Now you want to know.." I couldn't help it...I had to be snappy, it just didn't seem right to fawn all over him just because he tried to be romantic because it was only after I chastised him like a child and called him a bitch...Okay, okay I know..I'll stop...Oh who the hell am I kidding, thinking the word bitch brings me joy and with Izak always at my side it's hard to say it so leave me alone!

I see him look down and I know that he feels bad...I look up at the plate where the crackers once resided and see my wedding band. I glance up again and he is waiting for me to put it on but I don't and act as if I don't see it. I like playing hard to get.

"I know...you're upset for me acting the way I have been lately..." He starts off and I change my direction to the ocean and watch the tides come in, like my life. "But I have a reason..." Oh really now? And what could that be? "Willie I'm afraid..." What the fu- He's afraid? "I'm afraid to get excited about this pregnancy because I feel like I can't win in this situation."

I look at him because his voice cracks. Dammit! I look into his eyes and they're shimmering as he fumbles with his napkin as if to avoid my glare.

"I feel like you're either going to lose the baby or die in the process.."

I'm struck numb by his conclusions. Is this how grim his mind has become? What the past few weeks have done to him? "Daniel I'm not going to die..."

"I had a dream Wilhelmina..." His voice dies out as he turns away. "You're not the only one who has nightmares..."

"Tell me."

He looks at me and I can see the genuine fear in his eyes...The fear of losing...me?

I find myself rising from my side of the table and taking his hand in mine, leading him down the deck and onto the icy sand to take that long overdue-walk.

**OoO**

"...And when they sedate me I wake up..." He looks down at his hand and realizes that her hand had reduced his to a cold, pale version of its previous due to the vice grip she had on it. He looks to her for a response and gives him nothing but a chilling grimace on her face, her hand placed instinctively where her child resides. "Are you alright?" He considers that he might've told her too much..That he might've scared her but on some level he knew that she needed to know.

"I've never...I've never felt that I could die before." She states blatantly. Even when she had the heart attack, she still felt immortal...because she survived. Sure she hit a few mumps in the rode but to herself, she was invincible...until she realize that the rest of the world didn't see her that way...couldn't see her that way...

"I didn't mean to upset you, especially now..."

"No..." Her head shakes lightly before she embraced him immediately, feeling the ice melt beneath her bare feet, hard pressed against the sand. "It's not just about me..." She whispered into his ear. Him telling her...it set her up with a viewing portal into his mind...It was sad, the way the events took a toll on him and how, in his mind, he could never have it all...Wife...or Child...Never both.

Her voice lent inclining to his ear before she whispered to him. "I can make your nightmare our fairytale..."

Her feet settle back on the ground and he gives her waist a light squeeze, knowing that no matter how successful; She would do everything in her power to make that true.

**OoO**

The press would speculate that they were in hiding for they failed to make an appearance for days. The house was now secured with protection so they couldn't sneak onto the premises and were forced to leave them to their privacy. Only if they knew what was going on in the house...If they only knew..If only...

"Wilhelmina open the door!" My fist banged against the wood until it started to hurt and she opened the door without the least bit of urgency as if she was in no rush to answer me. She brushes passed me and I can't help but notice what she is wearing...My basketball shorts...After I told her that I was going to play basketball with the guys.

I follow her downstairs to the kitchen where I find her standing in front of the fridge inspecting its contents. "Hey beautiful..." I find her blossoming bump and find it just the slightest hint bigger than yesterday and I can't help but smile a bit. So I'm a sap for my baby? Sue me! You cannot tell me that I am the only man fascinated by the culmination of that night of passion, night of pleasure returning in such a...cute fashion...Yes I said cute! Her bump is cute, and this is probably why I get less upset that she stole my shorts.

She spins in my arms and I pin her against the counter, aiming for her lips but catching a pickle in my mouth and I can feel her laugh vibrating from the other end as she reads my confused expression. Biting off half, I realize that she had gotten the pickle jar while I was going on in my stream of consciousness. Pickles, just another one of my midnight runs.

She claims to have been wanting them for weeks. Again, how could she have avoided the symptoms.

"Are those my shorts?" I ask her, already knowing the answer.

She joins Izak at the island and sits on a barstool as he colors madly on a piece of construction paper behind her. "Do you need them for something?"

"You know I told you that I was going to play basketball with the guys..."

"No correlation.." She answers mischievously, swinging on the stool. Lately she seems genuinely happy, loving...excited about life...genuinely excited.

"I think you heard me tell you that I was going so you stole my shorts because you know that I would never take them from you."

She scoots down from the island, finishing off the pickle before placing the jar back in the fridge. "Oh?"

She turns around and finds herself in my grasps, pressed against my body and my lips on hers. There's no struggle for us anymore...There is no fight to love each other...We just...do.

"Wait..." She pushes up on my shoulders and hops onto the counter behind her. "I'll make you a deal...If you do something for me, you get your shorts."

"What? Another gallon of Rocky Road?"

"No! That should last me another day or two." I just bought the damn thing yesterday. "The last time I spoke to your mom she offered me something."

"Like what?"

"Running Mode with her...And I like part of that Idea..not the particular _with her _part but...I want to go back to Mode Daniel."

Why? Everything is sooo good...Why can't she just stay at home with Izak and-Okay so now she's looking at me like I killed Marc again and I'm almost positive that she can read minds.

"Daniel you knew when you married me that I am not a 1950's housewife...I don't stay at home, I don't cook and the only thing I clean is my body, my teeth and my plate...as of late."

"I just feel like you're safer here..."

"Rather than seven floors below you, in the same building?"

"Willie, do you know how hard it will be to come back to Mode? After everything that has gone on?"

"Maybe...But I don't really care...I just want to be back to work...doing what I love, I mean how long did you expect me to stay cooped up in this house?"

I look at her and her jaw nearly drops. "At least...Until 6 after the baby was born."

And she laughs, hysterically, jumping off of the counter before stopping eerily before me. "You are soooo NOT getting your shorts back."

**OoO**

I feel fat as hell. And I am not wearing his shorts to spite him..I wearing them because I can fit them...and only them. Suddenly ice cream disgusts me and I set it aside, now trying to figure out what the hell would I do for nine months in this house? Who the fuck does he take me for?

"Babe..."

Yeah that's right, you better walk on eggshells after insinuating me to be the Jackie Kennedy equivalent. "You come baring gifts..." He hands me a bowl of dried cherries and granola, my version of cherry pie without feeling like a complete fatass.

Before I can indulge myself, I see a notecard sticking up from the middle and I look over as he nears me in the bed beneath the covers. "What is with you and cards.

I can feel his kisses creeping up my neck as I read the front _Tomorrow 7 am._

"7 am what?"

"That's what time you wake up...unless you don't want to ride to work together anymore..." I look in his direction and he shrugs... "I can't stop you...Had I said no, you probably still would have shown up tomorrow when I went back to work but I decided that I'd rather support you then fight you on this..." I give him a soft peck on the lips and I can tell that he is proud of himself, the doting husband.

"Where's my baby?" I question, too evasively for him.

Before he can catch on to me actually referring to Izak, I'm pinned beneath him as he blows wet raspberries on my belly button and I can't help but be in love with him. He's tough when I need him to be. He knows my needs and caters to them. He knows my wants and gets them before they turn into desires. He loves me always...And he is a blubbering idiot when it comes to our baby...And I love him for it.

Wow. Our baby...I have to admit, it does startle me a tinge. After Ariel and Nico I was done with kids...Then it was after Izak and now...I've stopped making promises to myself...I just let life happen.

"What baby?"

I hear a little voice and it's Izak and his genuine curiosity. "What baby?"

Daniel raises his lips from my stomach and rolls off immediately as if to not spark another _Daddy hurts mommy _phase. I look to Daniel and it seems as if he is about to say the wrong thing like the new baby...or this baby...No, you don't tell a 3 year old that because you might as well say you're being replaced...Besides, it's not time yet.

"My only baby of course..." I smile at him and he giggles as I lift him over the edge with a little trouble that Daniel helps with immediately, hauling him over the finish line and settling him in between us.

It'd not long before they're both asleep and I realize that the next day will be full of press, questions and stares...It'll be chaos...I know that I can handle it...But can I take it?

**OoO**

"Baby, did you see my shirt?" I'm walking around in a T shirt and suit pants, 10 minutes after we were supposed to leave and I can't find my shirt. Willie is taking forever to get ready and I am trying to be patient with her before I thought she took a while to get dressed but now it's EXSCRUTIATING! Right when I think she's close, she changed her mind. I can't afford to be late today. We can't afford to be late today. I open the door and I see her tucking in her blouse-Okay seriously? She is NOT wearing my shirt.

Her eyes meet mine and I don't speak with fear that her head might spin off her shoulders if I do with that look she is giving me. "Don't okay? I don't want to fucking hear it! I can't find a goddamn thing to wear! All! ALL I can find is this ugly pencil skirt and-and your shirt because my damn chest looks like an inflatable bouncy house because 8 weeks ago SOMEONE couldn't keep it in his goddamn pants!" And she storms away...Was that a mood swing? Hormonal rage or a preview of what was to come...I shudder at the thought and just get another white shirt from my side of the closet only to hear an unmistakable scream of frustration.

And I'm back downstairs only to see my new shirt stained with peaches as Izak laughs after flicking them onto her. She's...nearly convulsing with anger and before she explodes I just turn her in my direction and start unbuttoning the shirt as she attempts to breathe. I can't help but notice how tight the skirt is...Which is probably attributed to how quickly she _popped. _I strip her of the current shirt and lead her upstairs quickly, finding my last white shirt to dress her. She is like a Barbie, unmoving...probably because she'd erupt if she did. I tuck in her shirt and make her sit down, running to the closet to get her some heels while I run around half dressed. While she calms down, I run down stairs with one shoe on and button up my own damn shirt and have a short discussion with Izak about flinging his breakfast on mommy.

"It was a akidet."

"Well don't do it again."

"How can you stop a akidet?"

"You can't..."

"Then how can I not do it again If I can't even stop it?" Why the hell is he so similar to his mother? Where the hell are my genes?

"You-" The doorbell rings and I realize that I only have one shoe on...I strip to socks and answer, stopping immediately with the person standing before me.

"Charles? What are you-" I stop to make sure that Willie is still upstairs, knowing she is in no way, shape or form ready to face him yet.

He looks behind him, eyes bloodshot and clothes ragged and with brown tracks across his dress shirt. This is the messiest I've ever seen him and probably ever will. He keeps looking behind him. "Look, I don't have a lot of time..."

"How did you get in?" I ask, knowing that Tony, our security guard, is to alert us of every visitor and is to clear it with either of us first before letting them in.

"Daniel I need to talk to -" He turns around when he hears the sirens and the tires screech against our driveway. I watch as two police officers hand cuff my wife's father over the banister that I had specially made for her.

"Charles Slater you have the right to remain silent, anything you do or say can and will be held against you I-"

"Wait, what are the charges?" I want to know why the Senator of New York is being arrested on my front steps and it is not the act of him being arrested but the reason that stuns me.

"The murder of Rodrigo Ambrossi."

**OoO**

School is extremely exhausting and I apologize for the wit but to see the outpour for an update, I decided that I should make time today. To get this ball rolling, we can work together as in the mane reviews the mire encouragement to make that time despite the piles of work on my desk. Hope you enjoyed, review!

-NWJ


	20. Like A Pheonix

"The murder of Rodrigo Ambrossi."

My mouth goes dry. My side goes numb and before I can protest I hear her shuffling behind me and I slam the door but that was insanely stupid because now it looks like I was hiding something. Okay, she looks nice...She looks mad though but she is ready and now she looks at me...angrily because I have been rushing her and I don't even have my shoes on yet and she has her coat on and now she is going to complain about being hot and-

"Did I hear sirens?" My mouth is still dry but now she is looking at me with those damn eyes and Izak is next to her, with the same eyes like-really? Genes, hello where are you?

Think Daniel! Think! "Uhh...I think...it was an ambulance...yeah maybe a car wreck..."

"We're in the woods..."

Of course! I built the house strategically surrounded by a plethora of trees and now it bit me in the ass because I can't even lie well. "...You know what..." My eyes look down to Izak as I try to find something to distract her with but all I see is him now with a juice box...a Grape juice box.

"Oh I'm almost forgot Willie…first thing this morning I have to be with Monster-" Just by hearing the words monster in relation to his mommy makes him jump so hard that my plan succeeds and I see the purple splatter across her shirt from him squeezing to hard.

"I mean Montabelor." I correct sheepishly but am met with her eyes that roll up at me.

"How the hell..." Yeah she's pissed. "...do you get Monster mixed up with Montabelor?"

And he squeezes again, this time on her skirt and she almost explodes...Yep, that's steam I see coming out of her ears.

"HELLLLL!" Izak yells as if to mock her and she taps the back of his head angrily.

"Act like me, don't talk like me." She proceeds up the stairs in a Barbie like state and I can only sigh in relief as I thank God for the little bit of my genes he does have to be able to accomplish such a messy task. Now...I let it sink in.

Rodrigo Ambrossi is dead.

And the Senator killed him.

I shake my head of thoughts and realize that this...Is going to be a long day.

**OoO**

It itches. It's too sexy for winter. I hate it. I'm cold. And I'm more pissed at my 4 year old than I was when Marc hit a vein during Botox. This isn't pleasant and this day is already down the goddamn crapper. First I wake up late. Daniel's bitching about us being late. I get attacked by my kid's breakfast...Then his drink...And now I have to wear this one shoulder number, the only thing left in my closet that I can wear because I'm expanding at the rate of a damn beanstalk and I don't give a damn if I have great legs or not, certain things are not for the winter. Sure the press will be all over it being daring and sexy for someone who just escaped a sexual harassment suit but right now the frost bite creeping up on my thighs happens to be of a higher concern. Damn this Lanvin dress, that has lovely rouching of course with a nice elastic waist and draping over my problem area but damn it, doesn't anybody care if I lost a limb to Jack Frost?

"You're fine..."

I guess he saw me fidgeting with this damn thing I'm wearing...Or maybe it's because he's enjoying this frontal view of MY THIGHS! I am not a garnish of chicken part sold to McDonalds for processing...I'm a person..An incredibly hot person but nonetheless I have feelings and am beginning to lose most of it to the numbing sensation in my legs.

"When we get there, the first thing we do is go straight into the private conference room...We have a meeting with my mother and the new CFO..."

"When did we get a new CFO?"

"Last month..."

"You didn't tell me.."

"You didn't work for me..." I give him a look and he recoils, probably realizing how incredibly stupid it was to say that to a freezing pregnant woman whose heel could puncture his spleen with ease. "I didn't mean it like that Wills...you know, I didn't think it was necessary to inform you because..."

"Spare me please; I'd rather not travel back there." I don't want to hear about my venture into the forsaken land of Vogue. Ana Wintour has reclaimed her throne and I am soon to reclaim mine, even if I half to gash ol' Mother Meade in her flat chest to do it. I will get Mode back.

My coat is pulled closer to my body as we come to a screeching halt and my door is opened. I don't get out and wait for Daniel to come around the other end and I can't even see because there are cameras in my face. There are cameras in front of me, behind me, to the sides of me and the only thing keeping me walking in a straight line is the fact that my hand is held tightly by his. Too many people. Too many questions. Fire makes Rene snap.

People. People make me snap.

So many questions and so many people saying Rodrigo Ambrossi's name, I can't even understand what any of them are saying. All I know is that there is a deep echo of his name in the back of my head and all I can do is hold my breath in, what seems like, a sea of fire. The lightest touch burns. The smallest inhalation hurts. If I open my mouth exhale, I might pass out.

"Breathe..."

My eyes open and we're on the elevator. He led me off the sidewalk, through the lobby and onto the elevator and never once complained about the lack of circulation in his hand as I held tightly to it.

"Breathe..." Oh...Oh..OH he's telling me to breathe! I let go of this air that I was holding and my chest deflates beneath my coat as my moment of impasse reduces my lungs to short-sparred ins and outs. I look to my left and see that the _30_ had an orange ring around it and I realize that we aren't going to Mode first...The meeting with bones and the new CFO.

"You look pale..."

"So do you..."

"I'm white..."

"That's no excuse, look at the Kardashians.."

He chuckles at my half-assed remarks about an actual Armenian family and we step off of the elevator into the white lapped conference room with only two lounge chairs and a loveseat. This is all happening so quickly, It seems as though it was yesterday when I quit and now I'm back...No doubt people will hate me. My power will be summed up to being his wife...I'm going to have to start over..Once again; I can handle it...But can I take it?

The two spinnable lounge chairs turn around and their occupants are revealed. Claire Meade: A.K.A My dead in my head mother-in-law and...Sofia Reyes: A.K.A The reason why I can't.

**OoO**

Maybe I should have warned her. I wasn't thinking about it nor did I consider it. IT truly did slip my mind that it was Sofia...Sofia Reyes, the woman who broke my heart on national T.V and the woman that I could never have any remotely similar feelings for her like I used to because when I see her...I see an insecure beautiful woman who used me to get to the top of her career.

I see my mom and her hardened eyes and I realize that I never cleared it with her either...Nor did I talk to her about the baby. She still thinks that I am heartbroken over some tragic accident when I couldn't be happier...Until now.

I realize just how good Wilhelmina is at what she does when she immediately greets Sofia with a blinding smile. Claire rises to embrace her and she accepts it graciously though by her stiffness I can tell her reluctance. I assume that the loveseat is for us yet she sits on the other side, as far away from me as possible as Claire immediately begins to show her the financial work up for Mode from her months of absence. I can tell by her constant sighs that the news is not good but I'm confident that she can fix it. What I am not confident of, however is if I will live to see tomorrow.

Sofia has been staring at me for the past two minutes and I have been staring at Wilhelmina and she has been staring at paperwork. She keeps staring at me with her own workup of information and when I finally acknowledge her, I see the wedding band on her finger and hope to God that Willie saw it too.

The meeting is short lived, ideologically independent between the four of us. Sofia and I mainly speak about the revenue coming in compounds through the magazine circuit while Claire and Willie mainly speak to each other. We don't intermix nor does Willie acknowledge Sofia to inquire how she got the job. Everyone is quiet. Everyone is on edge. Everyone is ready for the dominoes to fall.

They never do.

The meeting ends quietly after a half an hour and I find Wilhelmina being the first one to leave, with Sofia following close behind. As they exit my mother glares at me and I know that I'm in for an earful.

"Daniel I have sat back...And let you live your life to the best of your ability...I've let things unfold and I cut the apron strings...And I pray...That you know what you're doing." That's it...That's all she says. No lecture and she doesn't slap me. She just leaves me alone in that pale conference room with an ounce of confidence and the worry that I have just royally fucked up.

**OoO**

When you boil water, if you want it to be quick you cover the pot to trap in the gases and ensure the process. If you wait too long, the water will boil over and spill onto the stove and you'll have a mess...

I step onto the lift and try to compose myself after being blindsided. I hate surprises and he knows I hate surprises and yet I just walked into the biggest one yet. Had it not occurred to him to warn me? Was this the final stab in the back that he needed to get back at me? Is our relationship so twisted that just when everything looks well and fine, one of us had to get the last act and finish the other off?

I contemplate this before an olive hand reaches between the two sides of the elevator doors and I see that it's Sofia Reyes and it's like she's a fly that won't go away. I'm not threatened by her. I barely even know her and when she did work here I paid her no mind and treated her like the crap on the bottom of my shoes. In fact, every now and then I would purposely mistake her for Betty or the plumber just to piss her off. Little did I know, 7 years later all she would have to do is show up to get my gears going.

"It's great to be back..."

"Hmm hmmm." I don't respond in words. The elevator is not some corner shop nails salon where women air their grievances...It's an elevator..It takes you up...and down...Let's keep it that way...

"After MYW failed...I went back to school and got my Masters in Finance...In case you were wondering."

Her accent reminds me of Rodrigo's and my stomach churns as she speaks, only counting the seconds until his agony is over. "I wasn't..." I don't want to know how you got here, I want to know how to get you out of here.

"You know there's nothing going-"

I had to stop her. I don't do this and I refuse to start now. The lift is approaching my floor and I press the Emergency Stop, Ceasing the elevator in its movement before I face her and relish in how taller I am than her, staring her down with my towering stature. "Please...Spare me the clarification. I don't need you to tell me that there's nothing going on with you and Daniel because I know there's nothing going on between you and I have no qualms about you working here...In case you were wondering..." I throw back at her...Ha ha, I'm feeling pretty good.

Until she looks at me with a confused grimace. before pressing the emergency break. "Actually...I was going to say that there's nothing going on financially in Meade that you need to be worried about considering your leave of absence."

And she's gone. She walks off the lift and leaves me standing there like an idiot...Looking like a jealous idiot.

I can't help but storm away and into my old office only to find everything covered in plastic besides the Semper Augustus batch sitting on my desk. I ignore them. I don't see Marc and I don't see Ariel but I don't care..All I want to do is stare at the little people. I pull the plastic wrap that hugs my chair until it spins off and I sink down into the cushion, positioning my eyes onto the people that adorn the sidewalks below. This is my thinking position, my thinking mantle. This is the time that I reexamine my motives, my plans. It's been so long...

My fingers run against the hems that bind the cream leather together and for a moment I just breathe with a blank mind until I remember that half of the staff is probably watching me. I left Mode. Went to Vogue. Had someone accuse me of sexual harassment. Got fired from Vogue...And now I'm back and Sofia Reyes is working here as CFO in Connor's old position. They're expecting a tantrum. They expect me to crack. They are waiting for that press conference tomorrow for me to lose it, to do something irrational. But all I can do, is stare at the little people.

I trust my husband...I do but..This just rubs me the wrong way...In the midst of us working on trusting each other...In the midst of us bettering our relationship, he hires an old lover to work in our company. Our company...The company that we share and it ju-

"WILLIE!" That voice...Oh so familiar.

Before I can even turn around I find a pair of arms wrapped around me squeezing tight as if I were trying to escape. I clear my throat gently and he backs off instinctively with the knowledge that I hate when people touch me but by the look in his eyes I can tell that his act is out of missing me.

Like a child, he takes a seat on the floor beside me and stares, with endless questions in his eyes. He wants to know what happened, He wants to know if I'm okay, If my relationship is okay. He wants to talk like we used to. But neither of us know where to begin or if we still know how.

But him sitting at my feet like he had carved out his entire schedule for this moment, makes me rethink this assumption and open my mouth to speak but all that occurs is a numbing ache in my temples and I am bought back to the realization that with working my dream job comes the price of endless cogs working day and night coming up with new trends, a new center spread and innovative ideas.

I open my mouth again, to speak...To chat with him for he is no longer my direct employee...He is more of a friend...He is able to grow into that role without being my day and night lackey...I open my mouth to speak and what happens next is unexpected, is unprecedented...The tears begin to roll down my face like a stinging acid and I realize that...

Life is the pot.

Daniel is the covering.

And I...I am the mess.

**OoO**

Seeing Ariel and Marc enter and leave Willie's office reminds me that It has been ages since I've heard from Betty. I start to make a mental note to call her before the thought flashes across my head. The Senator. Rodrigo...I had the technology department disconnect her phone, television and internet connection. Marc and her new assistant are under strict orders to tell her that it's a landline problem because of the nearby construction. I sigh, letting the worry go away before I enter my office to see Amanda sitting in my chair with her feet on my desk and chocolate in the corners of her mouth.

"That was for Wilhelmina."

She jumps upon seeing me, nearly falling out of the chair before offering what is left, being two half eaten truffles and tissue paper in the turquoise box. She stands and I realize how bigger she is but decide not to inquire about how far along she is though I do wonder if Willie will look the same way at her stage though I doubt it because at two months, she already needs a new wardrobe and is half of Amanda's size already.

"Well I sent the flowers..."

"Did you eat the plant food?"

She narrows her eyes at me. "That's insulting..." She dumps the chocolate and takes out her calendar to read to me. "In 20 minutes you have a meeting with Montrabellor that should be no more than an hour in the conference room. Than you have a 2 hour drive to Lenox Hill to meet with the Ad buyers for Hummer with the Editor-In-Chief of Player. Afterwards you have to make it back to sit-in on Delicioso's concept meeting and then you can end the day filling out paper and staring at the wall...Or you can go home...Whichever suits your boy shorts..."

"Light schedule today..."

"Yeah...I kept it that way because I thought you might want to get home early today, considering the circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

And I realize that she knows...Everybody probably knows...And soon...Wilhelmina will too.

**OoO**

It was a long day. I didn't get any calls and of course no one wanted to meet with me. I didn't push the reason because I honestly didn't feel like dealing with people...I just wanted to stare at them...The little ones of course. I spent the day staring at people...No one was fired and I can't but feel like I have lost my edge...Did I go soft at Vogue? Did not working have an effect so deep that I could actually find satisfaction in doing...nothing?

This is depressing.

I picked up Izak from daycare early and just took him home with me. He's asleep now. And I, I sit on the edge of my bed waiting for my husband...To pick him apart...To question him. To find out what the hell is going on.

The look on his face when he sees me waiting for him is irreplaceable. He didn't expect me I know but now that he's seen me, he should be well aware of my intent.

"I bought you some desserts from _Deliciouso!..._I tried the chocolate ganasche but I didn't eat anymore bec-"

"Don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Ignore the obvious."

He sighs but he knows what he has to do... "Wilhelmina it happened so quickly that I didn't even-"

"Think?"

"...I don't know, maybe I just...We needed a CFO."

"I can understand that Daniel but here is what I don't get; she broke your heart. You hated her and havenever had anything good to say about her if anything...Why hire her?"

**OoO**

I have to tell her the truth even if it means risking my life. She needs to know why even if I'm ashamed. She needs to know why...even if it's despicable.

"To be quite honest...I signed her contract when I was angry with you about what was going on with you and Ambrossi..."

"So you hired her to hurt me?"

"At the time yes..."

"How long is her contract?"

"2 years."

"Air tight?"

"I was angry Willie..."

"So that gives you the right to go around hiring random ex-lovers to get back at me! Hiring woman to work at Meade that you never cleared with me? I own half of Meade!" Now she's yelling, the blue of her eyes have descended into a wolf grey and she looks at me as if I set her foot on fire.

"You worked at Vogue!"

"To save YOUR ass! I didn't have to take that goddamn job, I didn't it for you and now you use it against me to hire your ex-fiancée?"

"You took the job for me you didn't cheat on me FOR ME! Sofia working at Meade is nothing just because we used to go out! Nothing is going to happen...I'm not you..."

This morning I thought she was angry but compared to now, she was skipping and singing in meadows this morning. I know that that was too far but I have feelings too and her assuming that I am going to cheat on her just because I used to have feelings for this woman is an understatement to my character and it's insulting! I'm angry too...But not as angry as her...Okay, okay it was insensitive...Very insensitive...I can see it in her eyes..I can see it when she doesn't storm away but stays and stares at me until I can see my own reflection glisten back through the tears in her eyes...She's hurt I know.

Her fists had condense so much so that her nails are digging into her skin and her still stance is beginning to shake as she tries to control herself but before I know it, she has thrown the house phone against the wall and left, slamming the door behind her. I follow against my better judgment, telling her to calm down but all that does is make her angrier...Now she's looking for something...searching the kitchen cabinets.

**OoO**

That phone did nothing for me..I need to hear glass shatter..I need to hear the sound of something breaking against the wall...I need to know that something else in this house other than me is feeling weak. Something not too expensive, but something that will make me feel good when I throw it. I need to get this out. If I don't I might hit something...I might even hit him.

That's my issue...I don't know how to control it unless I'm dealing with Izak...I can't get mad at him because he can't always be held responsible for what he does but right now...I'm pissed...And Daniel can be held accountable. Renee sets fires and I throw things, I get angry. But once I get going I don't know how to stop and it gets out of hand. My pulse is racing. My blood is racing. My head is pounding and my body is telling me to slow down but when I get my hands on that ugly crystal vase that Claire got us for Christmas last year, I launch it at the wall parallel to me and Daniel ducks with fear in his eyes and my breathing becomes labored.

He's not me? What the hell does he me-Let me not go there...I'm too upset as it is and I guess he could tell because he is still telling me to calm down.

"Willie, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that but it is not that serious..You need to calm down."

You need to watch what you say to me.

"Please..." He's pleading now. "...Just calm down..."

He's not just asking for my sake but the child that I momentarily forgot that I was carrying. In a slew of rage I didn't have the thought that I was pregnant on my mind but I was mad no matter...It didn't faze me until the way he was looking at me sunk in and I realized that he is more concerned for my well-being than settling an argument.

"Please..."

My eyes bore into him and he is silenced, my hands on my hips as I stand in the middle of the kitchen contemplating my next move. Dramatic exit? Over the top statement? Curse him out? Stare him down? But what I say next is unplanned.

"I cried today..." He stares at me. "With one look, I cried for about ten minutes with Marc...because you intentionally wanted to hurt me...I don't know if it was the hormones or the anger or just the misunderstanding...Because I thought that we had gotten passed being petty with each other but obviously we haven't...And...I don't like to cry...I just don't like emotions but seeing...Sofia Reyes...And you having not said a thing...I felt set up...I felt manipulated...I felt betrayed...And today...Today you were not my husband."

He obviously doesn't know how to respond because the next words that stumble out of his mouth are horrible. "Why don't you just take time off like I suggested...Start over rather than right now because obviously you're not in the best of he-"

"NO!" My hand slaps the counter and it resonates through the walls and I can tell how startled he is by my strength and probably makes a mental note to never piss me off again. Like I said...When I get started...I don't know how to stop. "You don't get it do you?" He obviously doesn't. Years ago I made the blasphemous statement that I would make the greatest comeback since Jesus...Marc thought it to be a quip but it meant...so much more.

"I was born at Mode..." Like a Phoenix, I rose from the ashes of my childhood and became who I am, I was groomed into who I became. "I was crucified at Mode." Scheme after scheme and disrespect after disrespect until my reputation was lost and I was known to be softened by being his wife. I died on the inside. "...I have to resurrect at Mode. " I can't hide out. I refuse to hide out. I have a point to prove...Having a child is not going to stop me.

Yet Unlike Jesus...For me, it will take longer than 3 days to get back on track but be assured of one thing.

I will rise again.

**OoO**

**Thanks for the overwhelming support =D Read and Review!**

**-NWJ**


	21. Reaping The Harvest

She's eating with me...I guess that's a start. Okay, well not necessarily _with me _but she let me cut her a piece of cake. I think she ate that and slammed the bedroom door and I haven't seen her since. I need to talk to her though. She needs to know about her father before someone else tells her or worse, the police call her. I wonder why they haven't called yet, I would think that they suspect us in foul play. I don't know...But I am sure that it has been a long day and if I prolong this any further it might be my last day...On Earth.

Trudging upstairs, I walk past the counter and realize that she didn't eat the piece and just left it there before storming up. I ignore it...Some things are more important. It isn't late but it's definitely not afternoon any more...The house is dark and when I enter our bedroom, it's the look in her eyes hat disturb me. They eerie glass that hovers over, the look as if she is no longer there...Numb inside. Her hair is wet...Her clothes are changed...She had a nightmare...

I feel bad, knowing how difficult it is for her to fall asleep and knowing...that she hasn't had a nightmare until today, the mention I bring up Ambrossi. She doesn't acknowledge me but I'm not completely stupid, I see the mints at her bedside, the ginger ale, the paleness...She isn't feeling too well.

I told her to calm down but she didn't listen and she knows what happens when she gets too upset, especially now. I go to sit down on my side but am halted when a figure moves beneath the covers and Izak's arm drapes around her, his head on my pillow as he clings to her. I forget how strong she is sometimes...What with the anger and the tears but as a mother, as tired as I know she is...As irritable as I know she is...She still takes the time to let Izak cling to her whether it be sleeping next to her, going where she goes or just cuddling...I could never question her ability as a mother.

But I do question her ability to remain calm with the news that I am about to release to her. Deciding not to sit too far away, I make the daring choice to sit on her side of the bed with my legs hanging over the side before making another bold decision, that being to embrace her for a moment, calm her down, calm myself down. Like I said, It's been a long day.

She stiffens against me and I pull away until I meet her eyes as she speaks.

"I know."

**OoO**

I had woke up in a cold sweat. I was drenched and the last image in my memory was that of Rodrigo Ambrossi. I changed the sheets, took a shower and changed my clothes but...All I could see was his face. It's...it's burned in my mind...Each time I dream about him it's something different...Something sinister...Something evil...

Tonight made me swear to myself to stop watching Disney movies with Izak. Rumplestilskin made his way into my head in the form of Rodrigo Ambrossi and once again I could do nothing...In each of my dreams...I can do nothing but take what he is dealing out. I am helpless. I am weak. I am no longer myself.

And then I wake up and feel sooooo small...That's why I need Mode..Why I crave Mode...To remind myself of what I am capable of...Rather than what I have succumb to.

So where was I? Oh yes, the shower...After changing clothes I found Izak in my bed and I received a phone call from my father's lawyer asking me to post his bail...For killing Rumplestilskin. Apparently, Daniel knew because he said, _I know you already know..._No I didn't know...But now I do and because of his divorce, his assets are being tied up and he can't post his own bail...He asked me to do it for him...I told him to give me a couple hours and I'd see what I could do...His bail is 500,000 and apparently everybody has known about this occurrence except for me.

Everybody seems to be informed above me and I just always end up looking stupid, Today, with Sofia and today walking around the office with everyone knowing that my father was in jail for killing my secret attacker and I never mentioned it...I canceled the press conference for tomorrow...I wouldn't be able to do it. I rescheduled it for December 1st...I don't even know how he did it...

I can tell by the look in his eyes that he is afraid for my reaction but I'm no longer in the mood...I don't have the strength to fight...I just can't do it anymore...My health...My child..is more important than some petty argument...I will remain calm...I don't need to get upset...

"I need you to do something for me..."

He nods.

"Post my father's bail...it's 500 grand and it lets him out for two weeks until his trial the Saturday after Thanksgiving..."

"How'd you-"

"That's not important...Just...Just do it, please."

I don't have the strength to fight...I just can't do it anymore.

**OoO**

Sofia Reyes is not a threat. I learned that being back for my first two weeks. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated.. The fools still cower and yesterday, Kathy ran away crying over a small joke about her love handles. God, I love being me!

I have also found a new way to deal with stress; ignore it.

My father has been calling me non-stop and I just...haven't picked up the phone...I don't need the burden. I know it is not healthy to put off your problems but if it leaves me with the happiness that I was just beginning to see than it's worth it...Even if it is soon to come flying back at me. I need the peace...And Daniel agrees...both of them...Dr. Smith tried to take me out of Mode as well and I refused, but on one condition: No drama. My other Daniel has now made it his personal endeavor to see to it that the condition is fulfilled...And I appreciate it.

We haven't spoken about that argument...We ignore it...Erase it. The next morning, we had a new house phone and the shattered glass that was Claire's ugly Christmas present to us was cleaned up and removed without a trace left behind...He's cleaning up everything for me...Even making sure that I don't have any meetings with Sofia and we're seeing if we can work out a trade with Conde Nast but I doubt they'll go for it. In the meantime, I know that there will come a day when I might have to settle the dust with her but I'm not rushing it...I'm fine being where I am; Ignoring her.

For the first time, Ignorance _is _bliss…

11 weeks pregnant and my clothes suffocate me. SUFFOCATE me. The only stress that Daniel and Daniel can't alleviate is my yearn for designer clothes in the same size I was before I began to swell like a hot air balloon. I'm huge! Every website says that I'm supposed to be this certain size and yet it seems like I'm double!

"How are you feeling?"

The seclusion of my home office is soon lost in the moment that he enters, a bowl of HEALTHY fruit within. He sets it down and sits half way on the edge of my desk in front of me and I minimize this damned whattoexpect webpage as if I was never here and sigh into my chair, looking sadly at that bowl.

If only strawberries were chocolate.

Cantaloupes were chocolate chips.

And pineapple...Sweet pineapple...were whip cream...

**OoO**

I thought she would like it! A bowl of fruit...It's..healthy...I'm not insinuating anything, it's not like I'm trying to call her fat...She's beautiful...Especially now.

But I bet she doesn't believe me which is why I got her fruit! And now I know that I have probably just screwed up my life. But I soon forget about it when I realize what she's wearing. A maxi silhouette, finished with bold color blocking and snake-print details on the dolman sleeves that do little to take away from the V neckline and pleating bodice, right above the long gathered skirt that falls to her feet above, what I know to be heels. The main color is crème, the sleeves edged in black and a small hint of fuchsia that picks up in the inched waistband below her bust.

This is a daring choice for her...Daring indeed. I don't know if it's just me but she does look pregnant and she's obviously not trying to hide it...Oh yeah, the fruit thing...Hoe can I get out of this? She's staring at me now...Damn those eyes...Think, Daniel Think!

Before I can do anything she attempts to get out of chair and I extend my hand but she's determined to do it herself. She hates help with this kind of thing, especially since she was still able to do it when she was at this stage with Izak. I try and tell her that every pregnancy is different but does she listen? Hell no.

She makes it up eventually and when she stands she is my size and I roll my eyes...I thought I hid all of her 5 inch heels but obviously I missed a pair of Sergio Rossi's. They should be here any minute and I don't know if I should suggest that she change or not...Is this how she wants to tell them or is she going to change?

Within minutes, I see her again and she did change, but now I have another question. "Where is our baby?" Her stomach is completely flat and I'm stunned...shocked...CURIOUS...

She chuckles and turns around, showing me that she was not yet zipped. I approach dubiously to do the honors but am struck cold by the words of warning she utters beforehand. "I need you to zip me Daniel; this is ACTUAL rocket science...Concentrate because if you rip my dress I will kick you off of the island of Manhattan and you will be a castaway for the birth of your child."

I try and swallow but my mouth is too dry from being scared shitless. Carefully, I move her zipper up and it takes a tug with each movement. "Daniel..." She warns again and I gulp, almost there before I finish and clip the end. When she turns around, she's truly breathtaking...And un-breathing...She can't breathe, the dress is too tight...

It's a sultry and form-fitting, ensemble with black side panels and full white on the front and back including a jewel neckline, sleeveless and a bust seam. What? I used to be a fashion editor!

Her breath is staggered but she won't let me unzip it. She's not that size anymore and the bell rings…They're here! She runs around the bend as quick as she can in that choke hold and I open the door to find My mother, Alexis, Dr. Smith, Marc, Ariel, Betty and Matt all holding dishes and smiling faces.

"Happy Thanksgiving."

**OoO**

I have to get out of this thing! I can't breathe! I can barely move, damn you Stella McCarthy! Okay, yes I need a bigger size and I am finally convinced but in the meantime can someone help me! It took me like 6 tries to get up the stairs because my legs can't even turn in this damn thing and now I have fallen back on my bed and I can't move...I can't move...Holy Crap, this is going to be a long day.

Before I know it, I hear him coming up the stairs and I thank God for his nimble fingers because as soon as they touch me, the zipper is open, I can breathe, I can move...Just putting this thing on was tiring...Now I'm exhausted!

**OoO**

I love her so much...Truly I do, but she does crazy stuff sometimes, Like wearing a dress that she knows is two sizes too small for her and trying to ignore the fact that it doesn't fit. And now she lies back on the bed, arms at her sides and wrist in the sleeveless circle on that chokehold with her waist being the only thing still in its encompassment.

"Can't we just tell them to go home?"

"...It's our turn this year.."

"I don't care! This is stupid, family does nothing but eat your food and ask for money!"

The thing is...In between my laughs, I agree with her.

"Still...Cheer up, come on if you get ready I promise you one good jab at my mom..."

Her face lights up. "No interruption?"

"No interruption."

"Rated..."

"As vicious as you want...Just don't make her cry..."

"Ah! Too late!" She rushes away with a grin on her face as if she's going to brainstorm something to make fun of...But not before she returns to me, falling into my arms with her bounded hands and legs by her favorite fabric. Instinctively, my hands go to her back, holding her to me as she places little mini kisses on my lips and I return then with one final embrace of her lips and...We end up falling back on the bed and we laugh, but it soon dies on our lips with the realization that we won't be able to ignore the drama forever.

"Oh baby! Oh baby! Oh baby!" Yes, I'm a blubbering idiot, as I admitted before when it comes to my kid but can you blame me? So I like kissing her belly and saying _Oh baby _Sue me! She laughs at it and I seal our moment with a final peck on the lips and she pouts, knowing that she has to come downstairs eventually. "I love you.."

"Do not give me that face!" She is soooo sneaky! Pouting like that and giving me puppy dog eyes like I'm going to fall for it! And the thing is! The thing is...I just might.

"What do you want me to tell them, that you're sick or something?" She nods and I pull her up to stand before turning around. "You have twenty minutes."

"I don't like you."

She's such a child, and when she turns around I...kinda...

**OoO**

He smacked me on the ass! That's what he did, and he thinks it's funny! I say _I don't like you _and he smacks my ass and says. "Oh…Baby…."

I married a perverted cornball.

**OoO**

"Where's Wilhelmina?" Mom keeps probing me as the servers move in and out of the kitchen, the rest of us in the living room while we wait for Tyler and Amanda to show up and Wilhelmina to at least come downstairs.

"Uhhh She's getting ready..." I peer around the corner and I don't see her and when I turn back around, everyone is staring back at me, Marc included. "I'll...go check on the kitchen..."

"Why? It's not like she knows where to find it!"

Oh, the lovely relationship that my wife and mother share. Deep down, I know that they care for each other...It's just...way...way...way...deep down. I know that behind the jabs, the snarky comments and name calling...there is some...like... I know they don't love each other but...They like each other...They just won't admit it.

I leave them to their drinking binges and know that the only thing that they're thankful for this year is Wine and Scotch...

Entering this vast kitchen, she is ready and is wearing her first dress that she probably thought it was too casual but I guess she changed her mind...

**OoO**

I look like I'm going to the beach! And I look fat!

Just something else to give ol' bag-a-bones something to joke about. Which is why I'm in the kitchen, overseeing these damn caterers who seem to be completely dense and incompetent...Trying to ignore stress...Not working. Now I have a headache and if the head Chef looks at me again with his cockeyes I might just have to take my rolling pin upside his head...Wait a minute...I have a rolling pin? Hmmm learning something about myself every day.

I see Daniel. He is probably trying to get me to go into the separate living room but I don't feel like socializing and answering questions. Marc will be quiet I know...And so will Dr. Smith but Betty hates me and Claire is a pain in the ass...

"Willie-"

"I'm not going out there right now..."

"No that's not it...your father is on his way..."

MY WHO IS ON HIS WHAT?

No one asked me! No one cleared it with me! No one talked to me! What the hell is this?

"I didn't invite him...Okay well I kind of did...He called and...He didn't have anywhere to go...Willie and he...he did something am-"

I don't want to hear it...I'm supposed to be ignoring stress not blatantly talking about it! I'm not ready to deal with what my father did. I'm not ready to process what my father did. I don't want to think about it...I don't want to see him...

"And you tell me this now?"

"I forgot to mention it...

And the doorbell rings...

**OoO**

This isn't awkward...This isn't awkward at all...Just me and my sister...old assistant...her fiancée...An employee...his fiancée...My mother...My father-in-law...Sitting in silence...Totally not awkward.

No one speaks and I have no idea where Wilhelmina is. It's awkward but...Someone is going to have to speak eventually.

"So Marc..." Have I ever mentioned how much I love Betty? "How are the wedding plans going?"

"Oh...Uhhh Great...Yeah we almost pushed it back but...decided against it."

"Why?"

Marc's eyes dip into his Martini and her question is answered. He didn't expect Willie to make it...He was going to push back his wedding to mourn her...Did I mention how awkward this is?

"I'll be back..." I leave them for what seems like the umpteenth time and travel the stairs to see her atop of the covers flipping through the channels of our television in boredom.

**OoO**

Thump..Boom...Thump...Boom...Thump...Boom...Thump...Boom...My heart...My head...When I close my eyes it worsens...When I open them, it intensifies...This is why I ignore stress...This is what it does to me.

That feeling of fear that if you move you feel like you might fall apart...I feel like I'm made of a tiny little pieces..emotions and all...If someone pushes me...I will break..If someone blows a wind...I will fall...But now, my plan has backlashed...This is the part that I tried to forget...The part where everything comes flying back at me. How long did I honestly think that I could ignore him? He's the Senator of this-Well he was _removed _last week by a vote in the House Of Representatives and him being replaced is pending his outcome...

It seems minimal but for someone who has attempted to take life in small doses...It's a lot to process, a lot to handle...a lot to take... Sometimes I wish that I was younger...It would make this whole pregnancy thing a lot easier...He doesn't get it...He doesn't get what I agreed to and how much it took out of me to do so...How much it's currently taking out of me to do so...What it takes to get up in the morning...To do simple tasks that now exhaust me...I'm doing this to see him smile...And maybe even out of guilt..Which is horrible I know, but somehow I feel like it makes up for what I did...Compensates it..Replaces it...I'm willing to go through this...to purge myself of infidelity...It's over I know. It'd done I know. He's dead I know...Bu it doesn't feel like that..The last time I slept with my husband was the conception of what I am planning to use to alleviate my guilt.

It's been nearly 3 months...He's dead I know...But his footprints still linger on the Earth..His deeds...They still affect me..His words, I remember them...And killing him helped me none because now I just see him...I think he's always behind me but I have to remind myself that the man is dead...He's not out to get me..But his spirit...That evil essence...Sometimes I feel it but I...Maybe I'm just crazy...imagining something...But one thing I am sure of...He's dead.

And his memory is alive.

And that...That does scare me...Because what he couldn't do, his memory can..It will haunt me...It will creep into my dreams...invade my thoughts...It will never leave.

I guess this is what traumatization is...Why those victims on _Law & Order: Special Victims Unit _are always shaking...They're attacker is still out there...Only mine has taken flight from the Earth and made my mind...his playground...

The only joy that comes from his death is knowing that he can't harm Izak or the child he tried to claim as his...That's my only consolation. The safety of my children for the exposure of my mind. Sacrifice... I knew there was a reason why I avoided it for most of my life.

Pills...I chuckle at his offering after seeing me lie up in this bed, numb from contemplation. He offers me an Advil probably suspecting a headache or a backache...What about heartache? I trust, Advil does not make a drug that strong.

I do take them however, to appease him but find myself thinking about my father as I do...How he used to drown his sorrows in prescription medication...Until I worked at Mode, I never even looked at a pill without the fear that his habit might be hereditary...Sure he got over it, but the memories still lay engrafted into my childhood.

Of course, my father has engrafted a lot of things into my head...Like murdering the man who caused me this grief...I don't thank him though...I don't smile either...I don't celebrate him taking a life because unfortunately it was to my detriment...My nightmares have become more vivid...The terrors more gruesome..As if it's payback for taking his life away...And I'm reaping the consequences...

My father has never done anything for me but I chalk that up to the the hurt that life has caused him...And that of course was me..Until I met Daniel..Sweet pasty Daniel...oblivious to the dark side of the world, only frayed by his mother's alcoholism...He never knew true pain...That's what I felt, until I got to know him...And found that he was just as damaged as I was...yet he didn't let that turn him into a boulder, hardened by life's inconsistencies...He brightens my outlook...And he makes the sun...just a tad bit brighter...The birds sing higher...and the flowers smell sweeter.

I never knew love like that.

And I hate myself for almost ruining it all...So much for ignoring the stress, huh?

I guess I should make an appearance...I can smell the food creeping it's scent upstairs and I suspect that the table has been set and I am holding everyone up...It is Thanksgiving after all...I should be Thankful...For at least being alive.

I do love my husband.

I love my son.

I love my...baby...God, that sounds weird...It takes time getting used to...

I love my job, somewhat...

I am thankful for them...But I could do without the negatives that I'd rather not think about.

But I'll stay on the positive side.

I was right. Dinner is ready and it's approaching the time that we should eat...So I let him lead me down the stairs only to peek over the banister and see that everyone is at the table and no one is looking up, all of them waiting anxiously in front of whitened China.

I hate that we're on opposite ends of the table, My father at my right and Claire at Daniel's left...Marc is to my left and Betty is to his right...followed by their fiancées, Alexis and two empty chairs...Always like Amanda and Tyler to be late...

"Nice of you to join us Wilhelmina..." I can tell by the snip in her voice that she's a little p'oed by my tardiness but guess what? This is my house...Deal with it you bleached bat.

"How unpleasant of you to be here as well Claire darling?"

"A quip for every pound huh Wilhelmina? What shall tonight's count for tonight be, 35?" Oh yeah, hint at my weight gain, very original. But I have to admit, it does piss me off a bit considering that it is solely due to her sons basketball head child growing within me. I look up to Daniel and he nods, allowing me my one good jab of the day...

"Claire..." I call out as the servers begin to set plates of Caesar salad before us.

"Hmm?"

"Your skin is so old and wrinkly that your cleavage looks like the grand canyon, in fact, each one of those liver spots could account for a minivan holding a family of four." GOD….that felt good.

Silence reins the table until everyone's phone vibrates either in their purse, their pocket or on the table. Simultaneously they are checked and simultaneously heads are lifted in Marc's direction when he reveals the sent message to be _SNAP!_ and the chuckled set in, all but my father who I have been avoiding eye contact with for the past five minutes.

Dinner is quiet, unlike previous years...But of course Tyler and Amanda are missing, the usual life's of the party. They bring the humor, the lewd and the outrageous..Well that is mostly Amanda but still..I have come to care for the young girl...She is funny...in her own way and I respect that..Even if she does sometimes have the IQ of an acorn...Sometimes that's the best humor you can find.

Each course comes quicker and I try not to eat too much but I don't know if I can help it..My morning-night-noon sickness has finally begun to subside and I...I'm…I'm hungry dammit! No one cares when I finish the salad, or the hor'derves but the second I go for the main course people act like I have never eaten before. Out the corner of my eye, I can see Daniel chuckling as if my sudden appetite is an inside joke but I am quite offended...No one cares when Betty clears her plate, so leave me alone!

By the end of this meal, I am stuffed and I try not to make it too obvious, this obvious protrusion but I...I can barely move...It has been years since I ate like that and it will probably be even longer before I do so again.

I quite enjoyed myself though, the night is near it's end and Betty hasn't even made me want to hit her! It was almost a good time until Claire asks Daniel to talk and my father jumps out of his seat with an objection..

"Dad..." I warn subtly and he ignores it, only now turning to me. "We should all talk...All four of us.."

My short exchange of glances with Daniel makes me attempt to stand up but decide to wait as my father passes me with Claire mysteriously and Daniel pulls me out of my chair with my utmost gratitude.

"Greedy..." His whispers and I pinch his side, rolling my eyes before feeling closed in as Daniel closes the door behind us.

"What is this about?" He asks, laughing a bit at how top-secret it feels.

I take a seat at my desk and immediately realize that the webpage that I had open before is still open. I'm trying to close it by typing in my password but then my father stops me, clearing his throat.

"Wilhelmina, are you listening to me?"

"No, she's playing on the computer..."

Finished! I minimize the page. "Shut up Claire."

"We need to speak..." Just like the Senator..always trying to control something.

"It's about what happened..." Claire chimes in, which makes me suspicious...What could she possibly have to do with what happened..

"What are you talking about?" Daniel questions, standing beside me as Claire and my father stand too close for my own comfort.

"What the hell is going on here?" I'm getting suspicious...I know that look in his eyes...He's done something and he knows that it won't have any benefits...He's been hiding something..Maybe it's why he's been trying to contact me so much lately.

"My trial is in a week...I'm going to plead guilty.."

"Charl-

"I said that I am going to plead guilty..."

They sound like a bickering couple...a bickering couple that knows something that we don't and it has me itching to find out what it is...

"What the hell...Is going on?" Now everyone is looking at me...They know that tone...They know what it means...They know that I am getting impatient and If someone doesn't tell me what the hell is going on right now I am going to start beheading people. Hmphmh...Pregnancy does not help with Patience problems.

"I was on my way to a meeting a couple weeks ago and it wasn't a long distance so I decided to walk…But then it looked like it was going to rain so I tried to hail a cab and no one was stopping...Well Claire did stop, she saw me and offered me a ride...I told her where to go and we were almost there when..."

"I killed Rodrigo Ambrossi..." Claire blurts out...And my heart skips a beat.

"Claire!"

"No Charles...I was drunk...I had a couple of glasses of wine that morning and when he got in the car, he didn't know...I didn't even see him until I felt the thud against the bumper and we both got out and saw that it was him...Charles checked for his pulse but he…he was gone..."

"I told her to run...I made her run and when the police came, all they saw was me bloodied and hovering over the dead body of my daughter's enemy...I told them that I had borrowed Claire's car...I just took the fall, I didn't want to put her through-"

"So you didn't mean to kill him?" I question. So it was fate? It was one twisted unfortunate accident that led to the death of someone who had it in his mind to hurt me.

"I didn't..."

"I did..." And that's when it sets in...Claire killed Rodrigo...She was drunk well before noon and ran him down in broad daylight...My father took the fall...My father covered for her...My father became who I used to know him to be...A chivalrous man...A kind man...Someone I could admire...Even for such an act like this.

"What are we going to do?" I don't want my father in jail for something he didn't do just when he finally earned the freedom from beneath Lisa's ass...But as much as I dislike Claire...I don't want her raggedy bones in a jail cell either...But someone has to pay...Someone has to take the fall...Someone has to be charged with the murder of Rodrigo Ambrossi.

"What do you mean, what are we going to do? The trial is next week..." Daniel offers softly but it didn't sit well with me. I felt as if he was suggesting that I let my father rot in prison after learning this new batch of evidence. Sure, 20 minutes ago I could care less but...I had an epiphany...My father is a good man...My father is a decent guy...I wasn't with him in my life..I don't want to lose him just when I feel like I'm getting him back..however, it seems like that's what Daniel wants..For him to go to prison to save his mother's drunken ass.

"The trial _is_ next week…The trial for an innocent man Daniel.." My retort is angry...Not at Claire, nor at my father but at Daniel for suggesting such a thing.

"He is willing to take the fall..."

"What so your mother can't pay for what she did?"

"If anything, It was a gift after what he did to you!" Really Daniel? Throw my assault in my face...Make it seem like I should thank your mother for getting drunk and running down my rapist rather than fight for my own father's freedom?

"What did he do to you?" Claire asks, in the dark...I could tell...She could tell…We weren't talking about the lawsuit...

"Look, we don't need you two to get involved...This is between the two of us." Still trying to control things Senator...

"The hell it is! You're my father..."

"For 5 minutes..." Now he wants to get bitchy with me when it comes to his mother? What does he expect me to do? Just turn my back on my father? He's innocent and did his drunken boney ass mother a courtesy that could cost him his freedom

"Your mother made 10 am, happy hour! My father is not the one at fault here, Meade!" Yes, Meade...He wants to talk like we're suddenly strangers? Get defensive about his family...Two people can play that game..

"We're standing right here!" The Senator shouts, as if to call our attention but we're lost in our own anger, our own frustrations, our own emotions...

"Marc, what's wrong?" Hearing his name, my eyes divert from Daniel's and to that of the door, seeing Marc's eyes red with his blackberry pressed to his cheek, trying to suppress something..I'm just not sure what it is..

His fractured statement has us out of our seats and to the coatrack in mere seconds. "Mandy...hospital...baby..." And his tears...informs us that there is no positive to this news...

In the midst of an argument...It all switches... Within an instant, we're back at each other's throats bickering over which one of our parents gets to keep their freedom. It's sad how quickly things change...How quickly events turn...How quickly we forgot to work together, and immediately thought to dual each other.

This is the part...When it all comes flying back in my face.

**OoO**

**Srry..tried to post a while ago but the site would not let me due to a minor infraction :(**


	22. Baring the UnNamed Burden

-Filler Half Chap!

I don't know why I'm so upset. I don't know why I'm on the verge of tears...I don't know why I feel so...hollow. Maybe it's because I have now been made painfully aware of how tangible...I really am. What makes me think that I am not at risk? That nothing can happen to me...That I am untouchable.

This chills my body...This realization...that I am just as vulnerable in my predicament as the next woman, if not more...If it can happen to Amanda, why not me...When I deserve it so much more?

Why does guilt seem to have a hall pass into my heart? I have never...held myself with such an accountability and I know why...I can't take it...If I ever allowed myself to open up to the true recognition of just how much my actions affected others...I probably wouldn't have done them...So I ignored it...Just like I have attempted to do recently...And..

It's not working.

Daniel, Marc and Marc's Daniel went to the hospital while Alexis took Claire home and Betty stayed behind to help clear up. I, however, was incapacitated...I couldn't move...As if shock had struck my body, attacked my nervous system. This is when I realized my sudden tangibility, When my bubble was popped, When I realized...The hedge of protection that I thought life had placed around me...Was a figment of my vivid imagination.

My hands tremble at the thought...I am normal...I am human...I am an average person...I have feelings...I have emotions...And I have done things...Horrible things...To other people...I broke apart marriages...I caused deaths...I used souls...to my own benefit...And I...I keep my child...While a younger woman with a far cleaner record than I...Now mourns her unborn child in a dark hospital room.

Is this a game? A trick? Does he think it's fun? Does God find humor in this? In the fact that I can never be happy...That something...someone always ruins it...And just when...The someone(s) are gone...The something(s) have stopped happening...I...I am faced with happiness...I am faced with goodness..And I can't bring myself to accept it.

Because I don't deserve it.

I sent my father away...Izak is asleep...I can't...I won't...do this with other people...I have to process these things that fill me...These tedious notions that keep me up at night...Guilt...Betrayal...Guilt...Depression...Guilt...Sadness...Guilt...

I feel as if life has been stolen from me...Not the ability to do so...But the ability to enjoy it...I have to face the facts...I have to face my feelings...I have to face myself...Even if I do not like what I see..I have to...I must come to terms with the fact that on October thirty-first two-thousand and fourteen I was raped...I can no longer dance around it with the words assault...violation...I was raped...And I don't know if I'll ever recover...If I'll ever feel the same.

Only time will tell...

But I don't know if I can wait that long.

But in the meantime...I'll have thoughts...I'll have dreams...I'll have nightmares...And I will have to deal with it. I'll have sleepless nights, and I will have to deal with it. I'll have no choice...but to deal with it. If I want to survive...I'll just have to deal with it. Maybe over time they will dilute into an occasion or passing moment rather than the lingering hours they seem to currently account for.

Only time will tell...

But I don't know if I can wait that long.

These are the moments when I reflect back on my lonely years and ask myself what I was thinking. Sure, a woman does not need a man and at the time I didn't need one..I still don't...I don't need a man...I need Daniel.

**OoO**

It's nearly 4 am when I get home, having spent the night and some of the morning coaxing my brother into sanity. In and out of her hospital room, he would go always on the brink of losing it...But he had to be strong...for his fiancé..for his family. A little girl, they say...Macey Kai Atkins...She didn't make it through the night, 4 months early...She didn't make it through the night. I have seen sadness today...I have seen sorrow...And I can't say that I was not affected...I can't say that I did not shed a few tears...

There came a point where I just couldn't take it anymore...There were too many tears...too much sorrow...My intent became to get home to my own family...to truly spend Thanksgiving being thankful for what I have...Thankful for what is yet to be taken away from me...Thankful for what I never thought I would have with someone that I definitely didn't see myself with...

My family has become my sponge, soaking up the extra that I can't handle, erasing it..replacing it with their faces...The house is eerily quiet when I enter as the only noise is of the hinges exchanging in agreement. I almost don't even bother to take off my shoes but remember the look on her face the last time I made that rash decision. I make it quick though, stripping off my jacket as I rush the staircase and it's winding intricacy before taking to the upstairs that lead to a third living room, taking a turn and finding the bedroom that we share at the very end of the hall.

Yet, opening the doors...All I see is darkness...No light, not even the basking of the moon onto the hardwood floors that she specially requested. I forget our argument, I forget my animosity as I approach the bed to find her and Izak, lying peacefully as if to have lulled each other to sleep...She's so peaceful when she sleeps...I used to think about a joke each time she slept, something like _Huh? The devil looks like an angel in her sleep...She's probably plotting something though..._Now I count my blessings for every night of peace she has otherwise opposed to the distortion of emotions in her dreams and thrashing in her sleep...I'd rather her look like an angel in her sleep than watch her twist and turn as if she's actually wrestling the devil.

I know that I am blessed.

I know that I am fortunate.

I just have to work on acting like it.

**OoO**

The sun seems to be melting into the sky as it rises, ironic I know but the metallic mixture that flourishes between the leveled sky and waning sun seems to give off that effect. But what do I know? I haven't been up this early in years and it could just be the fact that I'm tired as hell and my vision is a little blurry at this time of day, plus I haven't had my coffee...And I can't have coffee...There goes the anger.

It's a casual day...Friday..I don't feel like dressing up and even if I did, it's not like I could because I can't fit anything anyway. Although, I did find a surprising loose fitting pair of St. Johns wide leg pants...They're stretch so they should go a long way and they do go with this shirt that I picked up the other day...BTW I am not completely complacent with my need for larger clothes but when I see something that I like I do get it...two sizes larger than normal...But anyway, this little number is simple...metallic and it's a wrap front so it can be adjusted as time goes on...Of course it has a side tie because it's Armani, duh! The arms are ballooned and bishop cuffed at three quarters...It's not bad considering how I feel...Although I did straighten my hair this morning...And I'm thinking about cutting it...It's not the length I'm used to..I don't know, we'll see.

"Did you eat...?"

My eyes divert away from the window that still holds a portrait of the widening sun that seems to be dimmer than usual. I'm sitting at the mini dining table that he likes to call the breakfast nook although it's rare that any of us ever actually eat breakfast there. I feel his hand gingerly rub against my shoulder as my hand supports my head, holding me upright as I try to concentrate on the fascination that is nature. But then I come to the obvious realization that he knows me too well to allow me to do such a thing.

"You're not Amanda Willie..." Sitting at the head of the 6-person table, he takes the seat to my left and I realize that he got up with me...He could have slept two more hours but no, he's up and dressed as if I don't know he just got home 3 hours ago.

"I know..." I know that I am not Amanda Tannen-Sommers...But if something as horrible as losing her child could happen to her, who knows what's in store for me.

"Why are you so convinced that you're such a bad person?" Hmmm maybe you should ask your mom that question!

I guess he can feel me pulling away from him, no longer wanting to discuss this because he grabs my hand and holds tight. "Yes you've done things Wilhelmina...Horrible things..." He chuckles and yet I don't know why because my face is still etched in seriousness. "I laugh because that's what we can do now...laugh about it...Wils that was so long ago and...Remembering your intricate schemes and plots...Our arguments...We can laugh about them now because that's not who we are anymore...Sure, you do scheme but now it's in the interest of both us so I have no qualms with that."

I smile because it's true.

"But Wils, you have got to stop punishing yourself because not everything in the world is your fault...What happened to Amanda had nothing to do with you...Had nothing to do with us...You can't feel guilty for still being pregnant..." He shook his head as if he really did feel...bad... "Don't make our miracle your curse..." I never thought of it this way...Surely I caked over it but never realized how rare...how frankly amazing it is for me to have a child, bluntly, at my age and to be conceived naturally at that...It is a miracle...And he's right about something else.

I have made it a curse...A curse I have to break.

"Listen...You have nothing to worry about...I'm looking out for you...Dr. Smith, as mean as he is will always have your back and guess what...The little he or she in there..." He reaches out for my stomach beneath the table and I smile gently at the prospect of another he or she.. "This week Cashew-"

"Cashew?"

"It's a nickname...I thought of it last night."

"You had 3 hours and all you came up with was a salty nut?"

"It's either cashew or boo..."

"We'll talk." How could I argue when he gets so excited over the smallest thing concerning cashew...or boo...God this is worse than saying my baby!

"But as I was saying...This week Cashew made a lot of achievements...like hair...nails...feet and hands rather than those webbed things we saw at your last appointment.. " I roll my eyes..._Web things? _I'll let it slide because he didn't sleep and well, like I said he just gets so excited. "...a tongue..." Okay! no man is that sappy to get emotional over his kid having taste-buds unless he hasn't slept in DAYS!

"By any chance, did you spend part of those 3 hours on whattoexpect . com?"

"I was bored! But that's not the point...The point is that we have come too far to go back now...You especially have worked hard and I know this isn't easy for you but I'm here...Whatever you need I'm here...but just promise me something..."

"What?"

"Promise me to promise yourself to stop comparing yourself to Amanda…Whatever happens, happens…But our story is different.." When I nod silently, his hand tugs on mine and I stand with him, meeting his lips shortly before being entwined within the confines of his arms as they hold me to him, my hands landing flat on his chest as I greet him with mini teasing kisses that make me laugh yet leave him yearning for more. I cut him off, a proposition of my own on my mind.

"Now you promise me something..."

"I told you...Anything..."

"The trial is coming up soon...And whatever happens, I don't want to fight over our parents...This is their mess...They're adults and we have enough to worry about..."

"I concur..."

He presses tighter and my hands link around his neck, sealing our agreement with a final kiss that he attempts to hold onto before I pull away. "When is the last time I told you that I loved you?"

"I don't know..." He answers as I feel him drop quickly, undermining my knees and lifting me in a swift movement that nearly knocks the breath out of my body with good intention. "...but you can tell me however many times you want when I..." I'm on my back on the couch and he is hovering over me, mouth agape.

"What?"

"What about Cashew?"

"Nuts? You talk about nuts out of all times?"

"Wilhelmina, really?"

"What-Oh OH...I'm sorry it's just a really weird nickname..."

That quickly, he forgets about the reason he brought up Cashew or boo, or whatever...And remembers why we're on the couch. "We'll discuss the plausibility of our unborn child's nickname at another time but right now...All I want is you."

And his lips crash upon mine.

**OoO**

_Thanks for the Support! It is GREATLY appreciated! Read & Review!_

**-NWJ**


	23. The Curse

I'm exhausted...I'm tired...I'm sore and My back is killing me...But I don't care.

This is the fourth morning in a row that I have woken up like this and I truly have no objections. Waking up to just a silk sheet left on the bed...My hair in serious need of the attention of Julliano...And lying next to him...Well except this morning..This morning I don't see him...The sun is rising through the blinds and I close my eyes shut to avoid being blinded but I can't help but feel good...I feel great...And it's really weird...Maybe it's hormones but I...I find myself desiring him at every waking moment and he obviously has no problems with it.

Last night...was fun… It feels as if we're still on vacation and today is the first day back at work...After visiting Amanda in the hospital, he came home and was...an animal...Like a serious animal...I'm not even exaggerating, it is truly the reason why I can barely move but I could be paralyzed and not give a damn...It was the best time we've had in months...

When I finally open my eyes, I see him hovering over me, fully dressed from what I can see and I can tell that he found my package because he is wearing what I ordered for him. A gray, gradient trim sweater with a white dress shirt peeking out beneath with a cute little blazer above some gray dress pants...His outfits were beginning to annoy me so I thought I might spice up his wardrobe a bit and I am glad he accepted my help...But wait..if he's dressed than that means-

"We're not late so get that panicked look out of your eyes..." Good to know, because when you wake up to someone else that is fully dressed you tend to think that you missed something.

"What's going on?" I inquire groggily, now wanting to know the reason if not for it being because it's getting late.

"I called Marc..." He sits next to me and I try and scoot up without knocking over the tray that he has placed on my lap. His only saving grace for waking me up so early is the fact that this tray holds the heaven of all breakfasts and I can tell that he had help...from Betty perhaps, I don't know...She doesn't like me so probably not or might have just asked her how to make it but Daniel can only make chicken and toast...Not Belgian Waffles...That's like level 7 and he is still negative 2 in the cooking department.

"Why did you call Marc?" And the mystery waffles taste good!

"Well one, he actually cooked it but hey...I bought the ingredients and I helped-"

"You stirred the bowl dimwit!" And I hear a familiar voice...A voice that showed up every...single...day when I had Izak and I wonder what the HELL Daniel did.

My chews cease and I blink up at Daniel who slowly begins to move backwards as if to be shielding himself from my blow.

"And Willie...I...I am hurt! "He placed his hand on his chest dramatically as his eyes welled up with fake tears. "Had I known, together we could have prevented this tease-inducing nickname...Cashew Willie? Really? A salty nut?"

That was his idea! "Marc you can't honestly tell me that that kind of announcement would have been suitable considering the recent events..." Between Marc and I, there are few words because he understands me and is partially afraid of me...He knows what I meant...And he knows how hurt Amanda would have been, had I taken the opportunity to bask in my happiness in the midst of her sorrow.

"Well still, Willie you could have told me..." He pouts, sitting on the edge of the bed as if he is right at home and on the inside, I do smile at the notion that he does know and I no longer have to be so secretive with him. "And how far are you, anyway? Pasty said three months but you..."

"I what?" Yes, my eyebrow does raise and with good reason. Marc is definitely not stupid enough to tell a pregnant woman, specifically ME when he thinks that I have gotten bigger. I follow his eyes to my stomach and I nearly stop breathing. "Dammit!" I need mirror...I need a goddamn mirror...The tray ends up on Daniel's lap and I am on a quest...A quest to find a full body mirror so I can-Oh hell...Bloody fucking hell! I'm huge...I fucking popped over fucking n-Okay...calm...no cursing...no f-bombs..breathe...It's not that bad...Oh who the hell am I kidding? I could wear a tent and you would be able to tell!

"Don't worry...This is why I called him...He brought you a dress that you can wear today and a gown for tonight..." I don't respond...I can't respond...I'm still looking at the mutation of myself that is staring back at me in the mirror.

**OoO**

I can hear screaming so I assume that she is ready. It's like an unveiling...Well it can even be considered that considering this change...I mean when I woke up this morning, even I was shocked...Smith warned us about the overnight stuff but...damn...Well anyway, they're in the upstairs study which I'm not really sure why we have...Maybe to act like a second home office for Willie when she doesn't feel like going downstairs...The things this woman does...

When I walk in, I am faced with her back as Marc hovers over her, pointing out specific points on a paper. She's on the phone and my guess is it's with Gregory, the head of the photo department.

"Are you dense? No wait, are you mentally unstable?" The dress is blue and the back is in the shape of a V, exposing an appealing amount of skin and is fitted to her hips perfectly until it stops at her knees. "What kind of imbecile, doesn't look over a photo AFTER using Photoshop...The issue almost went to PRINT with Iman having a 2 foot mutant elbow!" She... swings around with a stalk that runs the carpet, pacing angrily. "Let me tell you something..." God, she looks sexy when she's mad... "The next time that you get all Photoshop happy on a woman who is a size negative, and you BOTCH it then tell me that you CAN'T fix it...my foot will go so far up your ass..." And she's wearing glasses, dammit! "I thought so...I want it done by the time I get there, understood?" She hangs up and slams the phone face down on the desk before Marc gathers up the photo proofs and makes an exit.

I do love the dress...It's navy with a double-face neckline that is appropriate for winter yet it is sleeveless...It's asymmetric with an origami folded detail that's modern but not entirely edgy. I should give Marc a raise...Even her hair is perfect...with the side part brought on by long curls that twist against her shoulders and swoop at her widow's peak

"Cashew?" I question and she finally realizes that I'm standing there and turns to the side, showing me that Marc didn't entirely obliterate our child...He just camouflaged it and Navy is dark enough to do that, seriously Marc does need a raise..

"You look gorgeous..."

"I look bloated..." Her pout is even more childish with these glasses on as I pull her to me, press her too me, hold her to me...If you can't tell, I'm in love with this woman.

"Your gorgeous..." For a moment, our lips just meet and she pulls back, arms interlocked around my neck. She probably knows what I'm thinking just by the look in her eyes...

"No..." She chastises me, giving me a miniature kiss before pulling away once again. "Marc is downstairs and Izak is still sleeping..."

"And that's never stopped us before..."

And for a second she lets me deepen our embrace, deepen our kiss..That is until Marc shows up once again.

"Okay, see this is how you two got in this predicament in the first place..."

"Marc don't you have some of your _gay _plans to attend to?" She snips at him over my shoulder...

"Nope...But Pasty does...c'mon..." He motions at me and I look at her, not knowing what to do.

"Oh my God, you are sooo whipped!" He takes hold of my arm and pulls me away from her as she chuckles and settles back into the seat at the desk. Following him downstairs, I am taken to the kitchen wear he opens the door of the refrigerator to show that it is fully stocked and stuffed...

"Pasty..."

"Marc, you do know that my name is Daniel right?"

"Yes but now that you married Willie, I can call you anything that I please...So pasty, here it is...You're in for the toughest experience of your life..."

"Marc I don't need the father talk from you..."

"Pasty this isn't the father talk, this is the Surviving a pregnant Wilhelmina Slater talk! When you are done with this, you'll have worse stories than Vietnam veterans...You might not even live...until the end of this..."

"Marc it is not that serious..."

"Pasty just listen...Number one...Some days, like today she will feel...robust..What is your response?"

"Maternity shopping?"

"NO! HELLO NO! Are you trying to get us all killed? Huh? Huh? Do you like living, Daniel? Don't you ever-EVER suggest that! You hear me?"

"Okay...Fine..."

"I need a promise!"

"Okay I promise..."

"Alright...number two...When she gets pissy with you...and nothing that you do is right, what do you do?"

"Feed her."

"Feed her what?"

"Fruits and ve-"

"NO! Dammit, and we wonder why she is always in a bad mood at work, it's because you're starving her!"

"Mar-"

"All along, she's just been hungry!"

"Mar-"

"Is this how you have been handling things?"

"Yes..."

"Dear God...We're all going die...We're all going to die at the hands of a starving pregnant woman and it is entirely…YOUR fault!"

And now I am wondering the same thing as she was earlier; what the hell did I do?

**OoO**

Today was the best day I have had in months! No ad problems, no budget cuts, the magazine business is doing better than ever and Meade is standing out above the crowd. Conde Nast is not even a suitable competition in comparison to what is Meade Corporation!...Was that a little too hype? Okay, maybe a little bit but I am excited...This has been a drama free, lovely, relaxing day and I am beginning to get used to the continual pattern of happiness.

This is crazy! Even Sofia and Wilhelmina get along!...Well...they say hello to each other without scowling but nonetheless, it's not a total catfight like I expected...I underestimated the woman I married and the woman that I was going to marry...Damn, I know how to pick em'...Let me make a mental note to..never say that to Wilhelmina's face.

"Sup' step-pasty!" Over my shoulder is Ariel, following me with my messages, who has been filling in for Amanda during her grief leave...I just figured out that she has replaced the word father in step-father with the word pasty...Okay, who started this joke?

"Don't forget, in about an hour you and mother have that press conference together at The Jintao Hotel and then after that is lunch at Madison 6 with mother-"

"Mother?"

"Yes, she pissed me off this morning so she is now going by the name mother because it annoys her.."

"Okay..."

"Anyway, after that you have a meeting with the head of Seiko Watches on the other side of town and in the car you will be changing into a tux because you'll be on your way to meet mother at the Conde Nast Christmas Charity Ball."

"A Christmas ball? On the first of the month?"

"It's Conde Nast, Pasty it's how they do things..."

"Is that all for today?"

"For now..." She hands me the itinerary and walks off, leaving me as I stop right in front of the large window that allots a look into Willie's office. She's on the phone and presumably yelling at someone again and as I chuckle, I find that I am doing so with my mother as she watches along with me. In our view, you can see Marc training her new assistant on how to present her with her lunch. The kid looks pretty intelligent but does not seem to be grasping the concept that Marc is so desperate to impart in him.

And just as I expected, he didn't grasp it and the hot bowl of pasta seems to tip all over her feet and she flies out of her chair before slamming down the phone and she-Marc closes the blinds and I look to my mom as if we know that what is about to happen next is either illegal, immoral or totally violates every Human Resource code there is.

When I rush in to save him from a possible death, it's not as bad as I predicted. The imbecile is picking up the pasta, or attempting to with his bare hands and it isn't very effective because, as previously mentioned, the pasta is HOT! I assume that my mother is laughing due to the fact that Wilhelmina's face is about a red at the idiot's tie...She's freaking out about the dress because it is the only that she currently fits and Marc is running to the closet in search of something that she can at least wear to the press conference.

"I guess you regret all of those beluga crackers now?" My mom quips from a far.

"The only thing that I regret...Is not killing you when I had the chance!"

Yup...Their like for each other...waaaaaay deep down..Beneath the surface of the Earth, deep.

"Look, I just came to drop this off..." I am handed a small blue notecard that reads what we are to discuss at the conference. "A brief intro...Skim over the Ana Wintour accident and the Ambrossi mishap...Short inflection on the current trial and recap of Meade's current success and the announcement..."

"What announcement?"

"Marc told me that you two had an announcement...Other than the one I know about?"

"Well what do you know about?"

"The announcement about Wilhelmina and I running Mode..."

"What?" I hear Willie exclaim and I see my mother turning red and then decide that maybe...Just maybe...I spoke to soon about this being the best day...Because right now...I predict a bloodbath.

**OoO**

"Listen up you swollen botoxed manatee! I will not take this from you, not again! We agreed that together, we would run Mode-"

"Do you have Alzheimer's or is it just the moth balls in your ears?"

"AT LUNCH! Do you not remember the proposition that I offered to you?"

"Quite clearly, in fact it is the reason why I'm here! You offered me Mode not half of it!"

"I still own Mode, Wilhelmina I could fire you in a second if I wanted to!"

Here we are again. At the impasse that caused all of this drama...Caused all of this mess...Claire and I are going at it and she is again trying to undermine my position in this company and Daniel is in the middle...My only question is-How is he going to handle it this time?

**OoO**

Not again...I would never make the same mistake twice. "I'm sorry Mom, but I can't let you run my wife out of this company...not again."

"Your wife?"

"Yes, my wife Mom it's been 4 years what the hell do you expect?"

"Daniel I never understood it..Why you hold on so dearly to her...She hasn't given you anything but heartache...But pain...She can't even give you children.." her words come at a stabbing whisper that seem to prick my mind...cause a thought...Wilhelmina does bring me trouble...She causes...a lot of trouble...but I love her..And it's not always her fault and I-I can't afford to think that way..

"Mom she's pregnant...still...She's still pregnant..." My words seem to stab back at her with as equal venom as she did me. Out the corner of my eyes, I see Wilhelmina stepping back as if to get away from us, just as I see my mother reaching towards her angrily and I step in between them, shielding her from my mother's wrath.

"You bitch! Do you think this is some kind of game? Do you think it's funny, Do you think it's funny to seem me mourn two grandchildren in one quarter?"

"Mom, it's not her fault...It was a medical mishap...We had no control over it..."

"Oh okay...and so you didn't feel the need to let me know, hey mom what you found out, it's not true..."

"Mom I'm sorry but we wanted to wait to make sure that everything was okay before we got your hopes up again..." She steps away from me, a half smile on her face as she shakes her head as if to be in denial of what she's hearing.

"That was the announcement wasn't it..." Her glare lifts and her face is numbed in my direction as I stare back at her with no expression and she nods in understanding. "So you were just going let the whole world know without telling me first...Like I am just some stranger off of the street or some blood-sucking media outlet...I'm your mother Daniel...I thought that you had lost a child...I...I felt sorry for you all the while you were living it up in your home, knowing the truth..."

"Mom-"

"No..I understand where your loyalties lie now...But don't forget who raised you...And who got you to where you are..."

"I'm not! It was a hard decision, trust me mom but I just-"

"You just what? Had more important things to deal with? To think about? We'll let me make it easier for you...Since I have become a burden to think about...To consider...I'll just take care of it for you. "

"Mom no-" She ignores me as she dials Wilhelmina's office phone with only three numbers until I can hear a ring.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to turn myself in...A murder...Rodrigo Ambrossi...I know that they already caught the killer but he didn't do it...I did...I'm at Parke Rowe and 116th Street, Lenox Hill Manhattan."

When she hangs up, I can't do much...I can barely do anything but stare ahead at her hazy eyes as they threaten to spill over...I feel...shallow...as if there is not much left to me...

"Daniel..." She holds my face in her hands as they tremble gently and I see in her eyes that she is slightly intoxicated and the haze is not entirely emotion fueled. "You know that I love you right? Right?" I nod as if I am a small boy once again and she is about to take a year reprieve to South Dakota. "And I only want the best for you and If you think that she is it then...I won't stop you any longer...But that also means that you don't need me any more..." She pulls away, stroking my cheek slowly. "You've made that quite clear son..." When I feel her lips press against my cheek in a closed mouth kiss it all becomes real when I hear the sirens wail below us and she pulls away and walks out of the office as the employees stop, hearing the noises as well. I forget about Wilhelmina and storm out in her direction, chasing her until she reaches the elevator, waving gently as the intoxication wanes dry and the tears I see are truly of sadness.

2 fingers are pressed against her mouth as she mouths three words too me before the doors shut my view of her and for a second I'm frozen until I realize that everyone is staring at me and I retreat back into her office where I mull over these three words and I realize...That for the first time, The words I love you were a punishment, a penalty...It was like a low blow to chest that knocked the wind out of me...Never had those words packed so much pain...

The sirens cease and I press my face to the glass as I watch her being read her rights and handcuffed against the grime of that dirty squad car, her head pushed down within its confines and a flicker of anger fills me as I replay her words; _She hasn't given you anything but heartache...anything but pain..._And for a second I contemplate the chance that the chain of events that occur in my life...That seem to nearly destroy me are because of her and if she truly does more harm than good.

I am right...I spoke too soon.

**OoO**

How do I process this? How do I deal with this? There is no self-help book for my guilt, for what I have just witnessed. Sure, it is not the first time that I have seen my mother being arrested but...This time...I am to blame...I am at fault...I caused this...I drove her to turn herself in...She no longer felt needed and resorted to this...Giving away her own freedom.

I must admit...I have been cold...Since seeing that moment...I must admit...I do blame her as well...Since hearing those words...I must admit...I might not be able to forgive myself...If this turns out how we all expect.

Riding in the silent town car is quite awkward, we don't speak...She's giving me my space and did so after the incident, leaving to change. She returned in a black poplin shift dress, sleek in silhouette and highly minimal in design. Despite its simplicity she tops off the outfit with Charlotte Olympia's handmade black satin 'Origami' pumps. They excite the contrast with the zigzag pattern and signature gold island platform.

Honestly, I'm paying high attention to her outfit to avoid looking in her eyes. I know that she heard what my mother said, she was standing right there. And I know that she heard my silence...When I didn't object...but she doesn't act angry with me with me either. She is mostly silent until we are halfway to the hotel.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

I look up and she is looking at me through her sunglasses, cat-eyes and all. Without a word, my phone is out and I am calling our publicist within an instant. "Hello...Kathy? Yeah...Cancel the press conference...Something came up...And please phone Mode and inform either or both of our assistants to cancel our reservations at Madison 6.

Despite whatever truth the words that were spoken by my mother hold...One thing I know is that she knows me...And she knows my thoughts sometimes before I do...We're on the same page...No matter what...We're on the same page.

**OoO**

As we walk down the corridor, my hand finds hers in the swinging pendulum of our arms and she holds steadfast with a grip as if she had been waiting for me to do so...I can feel the press creeping up on our back, sniffing for information after the cancellation of the press conference directly after Mom turned herself in.

They must be getting a load out of this, Wilhelmina seemingly leading me around like a numb dog...She's practically dragging me because I'm out of it...All I want is to see my mother's face again...Never between bars or through a plate glass. She has to be the strong one right now and she has no problem with that, seeing how she always seems to assume that position anyway.

We're greeted by some of our usual group, still holding onto tight to each other's hands as we stand before Alexis, Marc, Tyler and...Betty...When I see her, I can't help but embrace her.

I don't know where she's been or why she's been hiding out from me but the fact that she is here now makes up for a small fraction of the hollow feeling within me...After, what seems like a lifetime, I let her go to inquire about Matt and her eyes well slowly, her hand swiping beneath her glasses as she smiled weakly. She whispers that they broke up and I nod quickly, knowing that later she'll fill me in and decide not to dwell on the subject for too long.

"Does Amanda know?" Tyler shook his head and sighed, plopping down in the waiting room chair that sat in the corner.

"Wanda!" Wilhelmina's head snapped around in a hurry before she is bombarded by an overbearing pair of arms that seem to suffocate her. She becomes stiff within seconds and I can tell that she is uncomfortable with the sudden display of affection and yet I can't help a pang of jealousy I feel...That she has a parent and doesn't appreciate them yet I can't stop thinking about my own mother who just willing volunteered her own freedom.

Charles pulled away quickly, probably realizing how uncomfortable he was making her and the rest of us, trying to catch his breath at the same time. "Are you okay, did anyone contact you?"

"No..."

"What game are you playing?" Alexis speaks in direction of the Senator. She, by now has probably pieced together the pieces of the puzzle being that The Senator was first charged but now mom has turned herself in and she suspects Slater foul-play.

"Who are you?"

"My sister..." I answer quickly, pushing Alexis back down in a seat as Wilhelmina looks over her father, subconsciously picking the random lint balls from his coat with care as if to distract herself.

"The Ambrossi family...They think that there is something going on...That we all conspired to kill Rodrigo..."

"But-"

"It doesn't matter...That's what they think and you can't be here or you'll be arrested next..."

She swallows hard, shifting her gaze between him and I. I know she doesn't want to leave me alone right now but if Ambrossi's family and the NYC police department are sniffing around for a reason to put her in jail, I can't help but let her go…But I need to talk to her first…

With only a glance, we dismiss ourselves into a nearby waiting area that is deserted of anyone but us...I can't have her leave thinking that I am angry with her...Subconsciously…on some level I do believe that I blame her but...again, I can't think like that right now.

"I'm sorry I-" I silence her with the meeting of our lips and she breaths heavily against me, silent until her stomach rumbles against mine and I can't help but smile gently.

"Eat something..." I coax, rolling my eyes at her endeavor to never gain weight despite the inevitability of the prospect. Her stomach rumbles again and this time she laughs, still held in my embrace before I sneak a hand over, what she describes as her problem area, as she attempts to hide a blush. "She's talking to you...She's saying; _Feed me, mommy, feed me!"_

"She?" She questions with a risen brow. Before I can respond, the Senator appears in my peripheral view and I peck her lips before she realized what I had and holds on for a few seconds longer before being snatched from my grasps to avoid becoming just another Wild Card in this whole mess.

I find myself back in the other waiting room and they all stand, looking me dead in my eyes. "We came up with a solution..."

And when they tell me...I freeze

**OoO**

When I see my mother again, being courted up the hospital corridor after being finger-printed and having her mug shot taken...After having her DNA analyzed and matched to the crime scene...After confessing and having the Senator released, she now walks, doll like, up the hallway. Alexis and I are the first to stand and embrace her, forgetting about the handcuffs that confine her.

"I can't breathe..." She mumbles between the two of us and we pull away, Alexi fixing her hair and adjusting her collar. "Tell me, why am I here...I turned myself in to go to jail not to come to a hospital..."

"Mom you're not going to jail..." Alexis shook her head, tucking a stray hair beneath her ear.

Mom chuckles softly, looking around. "What are you talking about Alexis? I killed a man, I deserve to go to jail, I'm serving my time..."

"No mom...We can't let that happen again...I won't let you go sit in a jail cell again...Dad might've but I won't..."

"Daniel?"

I shake my head as well. "No matter what you think mom, We do need you..."

"I don't want to be here, I want to go to jail!"

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"I don't want to sit by and watch my kids destroy themselves! I don't want to sit back and do nothing in life because my kids no longer need me, I refuse...I want to go to jail...I want to let life happen without having to see it all!"

"Mom you're not making any sense!" Alexis exclaimed before trying to get a peek at her pupils.

Nearly tumbling over, she squirms from beneath her touch. "Stop it! I make perfect sense!" She scowls before looking shortly in my direction and I know that she is referring to me and her up and down relationship with the woman I married, but I act as if the comment was completely ambiguous in its direction.

"Mom...We got you a lawyer and we convinced the judge to let you detox and Lincoln-"

"Lincoln?"

"Your lawyer...We agreed to have you plead insanity.."

"Insanity?"

"Yes, you were temporarily insane...You lost it from all of the alcohol deterioration that had taken its toll on your mind and what it was doing to you made you snap and you had an accident...Harmless..."

"You want me to play crazy for the court to get out of jail?"

"You did it before."

"Before, I actually had lost my mind thanks to Fey Sommer's cheap whore perfume! I am not crazy and I will not pretend that I am crazy just to play some sick game with the American justice system!"

"Mom, I thought you might say that...And we have decided that it is in your best interest that we commit you...for your own good."

"My-My own good? Are you out of your mind?"

"No...You are...Under the New York statute, if you're a danger to yourself or others, we can commit you, as a family...Mom, we won't lose you to prison again..."

Mom looks at me with pleading eyes, as if to beg me to make it stop and to be honest, I don't agree with this but I was outnumbered. As soon as I open up my mouth to object, Alexis cuts me off again as she points out our mother to two large man dressed in all white...I don't want this to happen, I don't agree with it. I am silent as she is carted off, putting up a fight with her cuffed hands and slightly drunken body...I don't want this to happen, I don't agree with it...I don't agree with it because as she finally settles down and goes willingly to the end of the hall and looks me icily in the eye, I am faced with the realization that she didn't have to turn herself in to take away her freedom...We just did that anyway.

**OoO**

That night...I have the nightmares. That night, I am the one that cannot sleep, that thrashes around in our bed like a wild beast as I try to escape the glare of her eyes as they appear wherever I look, eyes closed or open. All I see is the look of betrayal and resentment my mother held for me as she was carted off silently against her will. she looked at me like I was my father...Because he had done the same thing to her, only I didn't do this...This was Alexis's brainchild...She is exactly like dad and didn't care if I thought that it was a bad idea...All she cared about was not losing mom but by locking her up in a padded room against her own will...I think we lost her already.

The dead look in her eyes, her pleading tone, I can never forget them...I can't forgive myself...I honestly don't even know what to do as I continue to thrash around in our bed and she sleeps peacefully beside me and I realize that I cannot blame her for the mishaps of my life. Wilhelmina is not to blame for everything that goes on the world. I mean, she didn't cause world hunger or famine, or droughts or Earthquakes...But everybody seems to treat her that way...And today...I almost considered doing so as well..

I have to be careful to separate myself from the world...To keep myself from thinking like the world, because then I will begin to identify with them and sooner or later I will be like them and judge her like everyone else...I came so close today, with only a few words from my mother...I must be careful...I know that our happiness is rare...and temporal and I must be careful to protect it.

But the look in my mother's eyes today begs the simple question of: At what price?

**OoO**

**Okay, so I took a while to update and you guys either stopped reading or reviewing so here is the deal. I don't know if anybody cares about this story anymore so I'm just going to post the chaps back to back, 1 or two chaps a day since it is the summer. There is no point in waiting for reviews. I know it might sound redundant but I suspect everyone has moved on to new fandoms and the same thing keeps happening over and over again soooo I'll just let it go and get this story over with.**


	24. Who Is It?

_We're sitting in the park. Izak is on the playground. I look up to see a grey cloud dusting the horizon as if to warn us of rain. When my attention focuses on the little area he was in, going up and down the slides...He's gone. My eyes dart in each direction and...he's gone. I can no longer spot him. I go to shake Daniel and he is unresponsive, like a doll, unmoving. In frustration a slap him and all e does is keel over just as I hear him screaming for me. The blood curdling resonance of a 3 year-old screaming for his mother is heard and no one seems to care! Am I the only one that can hear this child calling for help? My child...calling for help. _

_I'm running towards the woods to trace the sound and it only gets fainter. I'm at a loss...Izak...I can hear Izak screaming for me but I can't see him...But I do smell something. _

_**La Coda**_

_My heart races. My blood races. My head pounds. My heart pounds. I'm cut by passing branches and bristling trees as I fumble through the forest after the scent of the devil and for a second, a shrug struggles behind me as if to flicker and fumble behind the privacy of its leaves. I spin around only to see no one there...Again, the flicker over in the tree beside me and I hear Izak once again before feeling a dampness against my throat...Damp hands...Clammy hands that seem to tighten and cut off my air...The circumference of my eyes bulge out and I am forced to look at my doctor of asphyxiation. It's him. _

_Izak screams again and he squeezes tighter and the world around becomes a fading dramatic...I can barely bre-I can't bre-...I can't b-..._

Her body sprung up beneath the blankets of their bed with an emergent jolt as her breaths came in choked gasps in the night, sprinkled with light from the casting moon. Her hand held her throat s she coughed, feeling as if her worst nightmare had become a reality. She could feel the air leaving her body in her sleep, the tightness forming her chest before she came to her sense and woke up, now gasping for air in the reality she now wished to stay in.

The light came and she didn't move, still coughing heavily and trying to get her grip on what was real and what was fake. What had happened and What was really happening...She was having trouble deciphering the two...Absolution or Fallacy...The lines had blurred and all she could feel was her wind pipes begin to open and a pair of hands turning her towards them.

"I co- I couldn't breathe..." She shook her head lightly before collapsing back on the pillow, the ordeal having sapped the little energy she had gleaned from sleeping.

He was surely confused, all seeing how dramatically she was breathing and the panic in her eyes. "I'll go get you some water..."

She nodded slowly, trying to remember the dream before it all came rushing back in one halt and she snapped back up, eyes wide. "Where's Izak?"

"In his room..." Daniel responded suspiciously, hand on the door. "Will-" He couldn't stop her from charging from the bedroom in her robe, still holding her chest for dear life...Because it felt too real to be so fake. "Willie just calm down first."

"This damn house..." She mumbled at the darkness and the combination of it with the size due to it making it increasingly hard to find Izak's little door. But then she got a clue.

His scream.

IT nearly knocked her over, hearing his scream...That same scream he had in the park.

Plunging into his room, Daniel right behind her, she found him in his bed tossing and turning with tear-stained cheeks as he called out _mommy _in his sleeps before she pulled him into an embrace that woke him up. She could only hope that he hadn't the other side of her dream.

"Monster..." He whispered, latching onto her shoulder as he nestled his head in fear.

"But I told you that those were Auntie Mandy's shoes..." Daniel soothed, on his knees as Willie sat on the bed.

Izak hugged her tighter her before whispering again, only audible to her. "Da man wit da funny voice."

She mouthed the words to herself before freezing...numbing and having to catch herself from losing her guards. She had a realization...She had a memory.

_"Hey little guy..." Rodrigo bent down to Izak's eye level and tussled his hair. Izak whined softly, backing up into Claire in an uncertain fear. "Hey..." He reached a hand towards Izak and he nearly threw a fit, burying his head in Claire's skirt, scratching at her legs to be picked up. She complied quickly, now intrigued as to who the gentleman in front of her really was. Izak nestled his head on her shoulder, his hands clutching at her shirt as if to put up a fight against being put down._

_"Wow..." Daniel pressed a warm hand to his back, calming him down._

_"Some kids don't like the accent..." Rodrigo stated simply, earning a huff from Wilhelmina, only wanting to hear the sound of his heels turning to leave, not his mouth opening to speak._

_"I don't think it's the accent." Rodrigo cut his eyes at Wilhelmina, hearing her mumbled statement. Feeling his temper flare, he lifted his hand in farewell and turned to leave, allowing Wilhelmina to breathe like a normal person rather than with staggered intakes._

_"Perhaps...reminiscing about the...little guy will bring some peace..." Ambrossi spoke up, offering some highly unsolicited advice._

_"I remember the first time that he met you, he nearly grew wings trying to get away..." Claire snapped, hating that the man was still there and utterly confused as to why._

She finally figured out who the monster was...And it angered her. She was fine with him tormenting her...Invading her dreams...Slithering through her thoughts...Casting shadows on her happiness...But when it involved her child...Her world...She had a problem.

Not only was he the devil...But he...He was a monster.

**OoO**

After waking up to the polar opposite of their bed, her side cooled and untouched since leaving in the middle of the night. She never came back to bed that night, allowing him to get his rest yet staying up with Izak as he slept...Warding off the monster.

With a large yawn, he walked the long halls in a white shirt and pajama pants in search of her only to find that she was still in Izak's room. She rocked him close to her, leaned against the white wood of a rocking chair she had previously claimed to despise and now seemed to appreciate. She was wide awake as he was cradled in her arms as if a baby, yet still a small child...A small child that was afraid.

He didn't want to come too close and startle her, not wanting to disturb the peace she seemed to be in. Little did he know, it was hell that she was going through. The thought that he had the dream parallel to her own...A dream that should never be subjected to a child's mind. The homes of bright colors and curiosity not licentiate and the worst the world has to offer.

Fortunately she did look up but her eyes were bloodshot as if she truly hadn't slept, staying up all night...Just watching and Just looking...Just protecting. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted to know why she didn't just put him back in his bed and rather than hear the question, she decided to answer before even being asked. "He woke up every 20 minutes and when I would try...to put him in his bed he would throw a fit and latch back on..."

He knew that she had probably been in that chair for hours on end and when he gestured for her to hand him Izak and she didn't hesitate, he knew that she was running on pure exhaustion. Giving up her little soldier, she waited for him to wake up which he inevitably but when Willie moved to take him Daniel ignored her. It was bad enough that she had been sitting in that chair all night, in the same place with now, what had to be, a serious backache and probably a morning attitude.

"Shhhhhhh.." Daniel soothed as Izak whimpered, also exhausted after seeing what he did. "It's okay bud, It's okay..."

"I don't think that I should take him with me..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Izak...Right now...After last night I just don't think that uprooting him is the right thing to do right now, especially to such unfamiliar surroundings."

"You want him to stay with me?"

"Well you are his father."

"Honey, not like that..." He bounced Izak softly on his shoulder as he made his way back to sleep with the occasional outcry. "I'm just saying, you know how he gets when you're away from him for more than a day...Can he handle 2 weeks?"

"Daniel I said that I don't want to take him away from home right now." She sighed before covering her face with the expanse of her hands as Daniel laid Izak back on his bed to sleep before finding his attention on Willie who was near falling asleep.

"Do you want me to reschedule your doctor's appointment?"

"No."

"Do you want your dad to push back the flight?"

"No."

"Are you alright?"

"Would you be alright Daniel?" She snapped back, not wanting to go through the motions...Not wanting to go through explaining her dream and the odd comparison to his. Not explaining the guilt she felt..

He didn't know that she wasn't upset with him...She was upset with herself...For bringing him into her family's life, For introducing him to her child...For making her burden her baby's nightmare...And that tore her apart.

**OoO**

He was silent, deciding to let her sleep while he drove even though it was always short-lived. One minute she was asleep and the next she was switching positions and looking out the window. The drive was unusually longer than normal, thanks to Dr. Smith's resignation from the hospital and his acceptance of a position as a private practice. Now, rather than 20 minutes it seemed like 2 hours yet was only 45 long 60 seconds.

He didn't know if it was hormones or he had done something but she definitely wasn't feeling him that morning. With every move he made, she scowled. With every word he said, she rolled her eyes and if he even tried to touch her. the look in her eyes shut him up immediately. Yet he still took the chance of resting his hand gently on her leg,, making her open her eyes as her arm, that held up her head, rested against the window.

"Is this a hormonal phase or is this going to last for the rest of our lives?" HE joked, smiling with just a hint until he saw her scoff a little, turning away to hide a small laugh. He thought she found his statement funny yet she on the other hand laughed at the gap between what he thought was going through her mind and actually was.

"I had a nightmare last night..." She stared ahead as did he, despite his earn to look her in the eyes. "I dreamt that our son was kidnapped and I couldn't do anything about it. Then, his kidnapper choked me to death."

"Willie you know tha-"

"Please...Daniel please don't tell me that I know that can't happen or that I have no need to worry...I'm not a little kid...I know that these...tormented...dreams are not real...I know that Rodrigo Ambrossi is dead and I don't have to worry about and you saying any of that is not going to change the fact that tonight I'm probably going to dream the same thing...And the next day...And until it stops, there is nothing that you can say and there is nothing that you can do but shut up...And drive."

Again, he was silent yet instead of deciding he was forced to be quiet. Yes, he wanted to tell her that he could do more. Yes he wanted to comfort her. Yes, he wanted to know more about the dream...And yes, he wanted to know why Rodrigo Ambrossi was still apart of them. But he was silent and did what she asked...He shut up and drove.

"Wait for me to get out..." He instructed after the rest of the drive which had remained silent upon her request. Pulling up to a large building with numerous practices and firms, he couldn't help but be annoyed by the increasing amount of paparazzi following behind them, not caring if the blinding lights of their cameras distracted him and drove them into a tree...All they wanted was a good picture of the jail-bird couple of New York...At least that's what the National Enquirer was calling them yet most of New York seemed to be on their side...Everyone but the piranhas with the cameras.

Which is why he told her to wait for him, not being able to go around the building and being forced to park in the front, where they were already ready for her. "How did they know we'd be here?" She questioned in an angry mumble before taking off her seatbelt in a huff.

"Someone must have leaked it..." He suggested before holding out his hand for her to grab it and climb to the back. Once she was behind him, he got out of the car only to be bum-rushed by reporters and their protruding mikes of privacy invasion. He jogged over to her side of the car, barely making it as they followed him with beggaring questions and impatient ways that only annoyed him the more.

"Who is she wearing?" One ballsy reporter requested, blocking Daniel's way from her side of the car.

"I don't know who she's wearing but I do know that if you don't back the hell up I'll be wearing your face on my fist." He snarled, even exciting the reporters as they now got a taste of what had rubbed off on him from his wife. Checking the car, he glanced to see that she was already gone and looked briefly at the outskirts of the crowd to see her metallic, leather pumps beneath 's black trench coat as he and Marc helped her avoid the press. And she actually evaded them, their attention not focused on what was going on around them but what was going on right in front of them.

**OoO**

"Where is she?" He asked, finally making it up to the 13th floor after being delayed by the endless layers of paparazzi that slowed him down. "And why are you out here?" He questioned, pointing at Dr. Smith who was speaking with a chuckling Marc. "What's going on?"

"Okay Daniel 2, take a bedazzled chill pill, Willie's fine."

"Well then where is she and why the hell did you just call me Daniel 2?"

"It's just easier..." He danced his finger between him and Dr. Smith quickly as if to give him the message.

"Well why does he get to be Daniel 1? I've know you longer."

"Are you in my bed at night?"

Daniel grimaced, rolling his eyes at the prospect. "What? N-No...I mean-Just eww...No...Wh-What...No Hell HELL no, That's ju-Eww!"

"Exactly...So you're Daniel two." Marc turned to leave, smiling at the pale expression on Daniel's face as Dr. smith approached him shortly.

"Ignore him, he's just been on edge lately with everything that's going on with he wedding and planning and you know-"

"Where's Wilhelmina?"

"Oh she's in with our new head-cardiologist Dr. Stinson."

"Why, is there something wrong? Is she o-" Before he could continue he was cut off by the sound of a painful grunt from behind the door that soon swung open with a flustered Willie, her shirt dress partially open and a keeled over physician behind her. She turned around and kicked him in the stomach and Daniel grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around as her tightly coiled curls flung to her shoulder. "Wilhelmina what the hell did you do?"

Dr. Smith knelt down at his co-worker's side, face red with embarrassment over the predicament.

"I WANT THAT WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ASSUALT!" The injured doctor shouted from the floor, writhing in pain from gut to his groin.

"ME? YOU WANT ME ARRESTED! She shouted, pointing angrily in his direction. "YOU perverted son-of-a-bitch.." Her foot flew in his direction again and Daniel held her back, grabbing at her waist before spinning her around to face him as a nurse flew up from her station to attend to the fallen physician.

"Wilhelmina what the hell happened?" Dr. Smith asked angrily, approaching the two as he thought about his newly-hired co-worker.

"Don't you look at me like that! He-He is the one that tried to feel me up in there!" She yelled, shouting passed him in her olive green shirt dress that was still open and exposing a scandalous amount of her chest.

Dr. smith turned back to look at him as he immediately responded. "I was just doing a chest examination like you asked because her breathing was irregular and she flipped out on me!"

"That's not true you sick-" Daniel held her snug to him, not allowing her to move as his arm held her at the waist and away from her prey before he shared a glance with Dr. Smith who was thinking the same thing and she...immediately picked up on it.

"Why the hell are you two looking at me like that? I tell you something like that and you stare at me?"

"Wilhelmina..." Dr. Smith started, getting the approval from Daniel with a short nod. "After everything you've been through...Do you think you might've...misunderstood...and mistook Dr. Stinson attempting to give you a chest exam as sexual harassment?"

She looked at him coldly, her eyes hardening as she jerked away from Daniel. She looked them both in their eyes, seeing a consensus of agreement as if they both didn't believe her and she squinted, eyebrows raising a hint as she questioned them in her head before actually questioning them aloud. "I was assaulted." Her eyes glazed over theirs incredulously. "I was humiliated...And I was violated...That does not mean that I go around MISTAKING simple brushes up against me or someone grazing in front of me as harassment! That man-" She pointed at Dr. Stinson who was being attended to by nurses. "I know what he did...My heart is not in the middle of my breast...Does that qualify as harassment? Huh? Feeling me up? Or how about when I slapped him and he said that considering my recent sexual run-ins, he wouldn't be asking me to do anything that I hadn't done before..." Her eyes welled up behind her glare, glistening her blue horizon to one of a glossy angle as she shook her head at the two men before her. Her mouth opened to speak but she gasped a little, not expecting to become emotional but attributed to her hormones which she had done lately.

She stormed down the corridor and around the bend, fumbling with her top buttons before Daniel's eyes shifted to the crouching doctor. Dr. Smith watched him carefully, seeing the shift in his body language immediately and anticipating his next move which is probably why, when Daniel lunged at him, his attempts were thwarted and Dr. Smith pinned him up against the wall, calming him down and snapping him back into reality. "I will take care of him...You go get her."

**OoO**

"You should have seen the way-the way they looked at me like I was just some crazy victim who called 911 every time someone hugged me! I am...so humiliated and they just stared at me and didn't even give a shut and I can't-I can't do this!: She was losing her cool as she fumbled with her buttons and eventually gave up in an explosion of her words as Marc just hushed her and did if for her to avoid her just ripping the dress all together. No matter what, he would always be there for her...assistant or not. And when he stared at his hands, focusing on the process of her buttoning he rip and felt warm tears slide down the base of his thumb, he looked up, knowing her not to be an emotional person but also knowing what happens when she is in her condition. Yet even despite that, when he felt the warm presence melt down his hands and her hand quickly move to swipe at her hand, he knew it would be one of those times where he was there for her. Like always.

"There we go..." He finished and she sniffled briefly, turning around to fix her face before he spoke up again. "Now you need to calm down...A sad face does not compliment a vintage Thierry Mugler." She stared back at him, empty all but her anger. "Willie, I'm trying to calm you down...Or at least get your blood pressure down..."

"Marc...he just stared at me...Like I was just some traumatized freak..."

"Well why would you be traumatized?"

She froze, realizing that Marc knew nothing...He was completely uninformed as to the happenings on that fateful October night...But she couldn't bring herself to tell him...Or tell anyone for that matter...She had locked away the details in a dark lockbox at the back of her mind and never intended to revisit, even in the most dire of circumstances. But her nightmares did the job better than any memory could.

"Wilhelmina, I've been looking all over this building..." She looked to her right to see Daniel doming up the hall and Marc left quietly, taking the stairs to the next floor rather than catching an elevator there and being forced to stand there and listen to what had to be an awkward conversation in the making.

She never responded, only looking back at him with an emotionless grimace that both scared and worried him. "I don't know what to say...Are you alright?"

"Are you asking the paranoid victim or your humiliated wife?"

"Willie-"

"I...I can't even look at you right now..." She turned away, taking the stairs to get away from him...Get away from his apologies...Get away from his response...Get away from New York. More than ever. She was ready to go to Chicago.

**OoO**

When he got home he was faced with a home with only Ariel and Izak, Ariel telling him that Willie was long gone and probably on a plane by now while Izak had slept for most of the time. She left no note and has said no goodbyes. She didn't call to tell him that she got in safe and left him wondering just how bad he screwed up...How quickly he jumped to conclusions and how could he fix this mess they had stepped in.

_I didn't mean to humiliate her, honestly I didn't...It's not that I didn't believe her but it's also not like I was in the room to see what happened and she is a dramatic person with a temper! It's not completely out of the blue with her possibly misunderstanding him considering recent events. I just wish that I could tell this to her, explain it to her but no she ignores my calls and doesn't respond to my texts like she hasn't gotten them! I need to hear from her! She was in there to see that pervert for a reason! Apparently there is something wrong and she left before she could get another doctor, though I doubt that she would have wanted a new one anyway._

_I just want to hear from her._

**OoO**

It was nightfall when they finally pulled up to the Chicago residence. She had forced herself into a sleep to ignore the memories that she faced in the heart of the city. She always referred to it as being Chicago but it was really Kenilworth, a wealthy inhabitance for the elite that her father had maintained for nearly 3 decades. From a child, she just called it Chicago because she couldn't pronounce it but now as an adult, when she could do so, it still stuck in her head as Chicago.

She had memories there before she was exiled out boarding school...Memories of disastrous holidays and ruined vacations. Nothing pleasant...There weren't many pleasant memories from her childhood to begin with...If she were awake, she would have seen the Cathedral she and her family used to attend mass at...The same Cathedral that her parents forced her to be baptized again because she hadn't been as a baby...She would have seen the local cornerstone...Or the ruins left after it burnt to the ground after a breakdown of Renee's which the Senator was able to get the fire chief to aim it up to electrical malfunctioning. This is why she slept, blocked out the memories...As long as she could...Until the car stopped.

The first she noticed, other than the remodeled appearance were the cars in the driveway. "Who's here?

The Senator cut off the car, silently removing the key from the ignition before turning to see her. "I lied."

"You lied?"

"The house upstate isn't being remodeled."

"What?"

"There is a reason that you needed to stay here?"

Wilhelmina rolled her eyes before undoing her seatbelt. "I am so out of here.."

"Wanda wait, this is our safety!"

"You lied to me!"

"If I told you the truth than you wouldn't have come."

Rubbing her hand down her face, she huffed with the reality that she had experienced enough drama for one day and really was in no way in the mood for anymore. "I'm going to ask you one last time before I go book a hotel and get the hell out of this place...Who's here?"

**OoO**

**I'm sleepy and any mistakes are mine. Also, thanks to all of you who still try to review, they really do encourage me to update but I still have to get better at following up with what I say. Hope you enoyed =D**


	25. Little Ol' Me

"You don't know how happy I am to see you." He threw his arms around her, pulling his longtime friend into an embrace that was short-lived yet long-awaited. She stood back, pushing up her glasses before stepping inside and passed him only to be greeted by a frowning Izak.

"You're not my mommy."

"No...I'm not your mommy...I'm your Aunt Betty."

"I want my mommy."

"I'm sorry."

"Where's my mommy?"

"I think she's in Chicago."

"Did you put her there?"

"No."

"Lie!" He exclaimed, flinging his foot in her direction so that it landed directly in the center of her calf and she squealed discretely, nodding as the pain blemished in her leg and Daniel called his name.

"Izak get back here!" Izak froze in the doorway of the kitchen, his back facing the foyer where Daniel and Betty stood as he folded his arms across his chest and Daniel called him again. "Turn around." Izak spun on his heels slowly, turning around to reveal his pouted face and red cheeks as he stared ahead. "Come here." He never moved, looking at Daniel defiantly before running upstairs and ignoring him. "Izak! Izak get back here!"

Betty grimaced at his ineffective shouts and he turned his attention back to her, a little red from embarrassment. "He's a little angry."

"So you're just going to let him act like that?"

"What am I supposed to do, hit him?" Daniel shrugged, knowing that was not a plausible possibility.

"A spanking here and there never hurt me."

"Betty you were not the spawn of Wilhelmina Slater." He joked, leading her into the kitchen. "Let me get you some ice for that...I'll have him apologize later when he doesn't have such an attitude."

He handed her the ice bag which she accepted happily before hearing the terror-leader's small footstep once again that flacked down the staircase. Izak walked in slowly, the house phone in his small hand before he reached up and put it on the console near the counter.

"Are you ready to apologize?" Daniel asked.

"MOMMY...said that I had to say sorry..." He turned to Betty. "Sorry..."

"Thank you Izak." Betty smiled awkwardly before feeling his foot jam into her calf once again.

"BUT SHE DIDN'T SAY I HAD TO MEAN IT!" He yelled before attempting to get away only to be swung back by his forearm and pulled into his father's clutches.

He looked his son in the eyes, watching his blue eyes harden and breathing uneven as his face discolored to a light pink when he realized that he had his mother's temper...And apparently the ability to contact her when he couldn't. "You talked to your mother?" Izak looked at him, still held by his forearm yet not caring for any words that spilled from Daniel's mouth. "I asked you a question, Izak!"

"Bite. Me." He uttered as if he had heard someone use the same phrase in a similar context and felt that it fit appropriately at the moment despite Daniel's rising anger.

"Oh you are soooo not getting visited by Santa this year!"

"I don't care, mommy already told me she's Santa!" He yanked away, trekking up the stairs in a huff as Daniel attempted to hold his cool with not a clue of what to do next. He usually handled the small punishments when he threw a tantrum but when it came to little stints like this, Willie would take care of it in what seemed like 2 minutes with no hassle. Rolling his eyes at the predicament, he found Betty in the living room after hobbling over there with much needed help from every table and counter she passed.

"I'm so sorry...I don't know what's gotten into him lately..Maybe he misses him mom, I don't know but it's no excuse for what he did to you."

"I'll be fine Daniel...He's only three...with amazing aim and lower body strength." They both chuckled and she pressed the ice into her leg. "Soooooo you wanted to talk?"

**OoO**

For a second she just stared...For a second...She just processed her thoughts...For a second...She was shocked.

He told her everything...EVERYTHING...Anything that she had been left in the dark about, she knew...But now wasn't sure if she wanted to...If it was any consolation...If it was any better to know,...At least she was sure that he still trusted her even if it changed her entire outlook on him...on her...on their relationship...their marriage.

"You two really do love each other, don't you?" He looked up momentarily only to see that the midst in her eyes matched the same in his. "Obviously you've been through more than I've given you two credit for, I'm sorry...I-"

"Betty you don't have to apologize...I shut you out of my life...You had no choice but to assume what was going on..."

"But I was soooo wrong, Da-"

"Betty its okay...I just needed to get it all off my chest."

"I know but...Now Sofia works at Mode...Your mother...I know why she was sooo...weird when I went to see her yesterday."

"You saw her? She wouldn't see me..."

"Oh...I...I...I just went and told them my name...She seemed so...empty...like a doll...She didn't speak...She just laid there, cuffed to the bed...I only stayed for a few minutes, I just couldn't take it."

He nodded and she was silent, watching his demeanor changed as he attempted to hold his composure...His nose reddened...His eyes watered...His hands trembled. Everyone seemed to be worried about Wilhelmina falling apart but he...He was cracking right along with her.

"Daniel..."

"I didn't want to put her in there." Hi words came as slow reaction to his tears that seemed to flow effortlessly. For months he suppressed his deepest thoughts...his deepest emotions. He was bursting.

"I didn't want to do it!" His head shook as he found himself in her embrace as his silent tears stained the blue satin of her button up shirt and he released himself...He had his moment...HE felt his pain...He got his breakthrough.

"I'm here Daniel..." Se comforted it, feeling herself get emotional as well because...Whether it be 5 months...5 years...or 5 decades...They could always sit down and talk as if nothing had changed or transpired.

And that's what validated their friendship.

**OoO**

That's the worst part about being married...You get used to having someone beside you, a body generating heat, a body to wrap your arms around...Something tangible to press your cheek to...He hadn't taken a trip to Paris in forever and had once again gotten used to being beside her in bed and found that in twisting and turning, he couldn't sleep without her. Sure it was night 3 and he had already realized that when he shifted to sleep in their bed, she wouldn't be there.

Before he could once again adjust to the coolness that took residence on the other half of the mattress, his phone was ringing and his eyes were open after not even being able to fully close. "Hello?"

_"I didn't mean to call you; I rolled over and dialed your number."_

"Willie? Wait-Don't hang up...Willie?"

_"Take a pill Danny. I'm still here."_

"Are you going to hang up?"

_"I'm still here aren't I?"_

He smiled before sitting up in bed and getting too excited. "Do you want to talk about it?"

_"There's no point...I'm over it, let's just move passed it."_

"Are you sure? I just don't want you to think that I didn't-"

_"I'm over it Daniel."_

"Fine...okay...well...How is it over there? Are you having fun?"

_"I have been locked up this room for 3 days straight...No I'm not having fun."_

"Why have you been locked up in there?"

_"Because I refuse to leave."_

"Have you eaten?"

_"Daniel, I told you that my parents tried to keep me on a diet a vegetables and dirt as a child...Of course I brought my own food."_

"Well why have you kept yourself in your room? Get out, go see Chicago."

_"I am going out tomorrow to do a live taping for Oprah's life class...It's the first one with an audience and apparently my father thinks that he is now my manager and is trying to go all Jo Jackson on me and I swear to God if he books me in anything else I will strangle him."_

"Well at least he's trying."

_"Yes...He's trying...trying to be killed..."_

He laughed, shaking his head at her violent humor. "I've missed you."

_"Obviously...It's almost 12 am and you're still up..."_

"What, you didn't miss me?"

_"Of course I did. Do you know how difficult it is to sleep without a human body pillow?"_

"You missed me because I'm a pillow?"

_"And of course your cute little face.."_

"I'm flattered."

_"You better be."_

"Hey, speaking of cute little faces...Your son is going to be the death of me."

_"So now he's my son?"_

"He kicked Betty...TWICE!"

_"Oh that was Betty?"_

"Yeah, who did you think it was?"

_"Well he told me that it was Aunt Bacon and I didn't feel up to probe him...Do you want me to talk to him?"_

"You can but...I don't know why he's acting out so."

_"HE probably thinks I abandoned him."_

"But I'm here."

_"But he likes me better."_

"You know what Willie...This is the exact reason why Cashew is a girl..."

_"Oh really?"_

"Yeah...If our kids are going to pick favorites, we should get at least one each."

_"They're not lollipops Daniel they're children."_

"Our children...Who need to stop taking after you."

_"Daniel boy or girl, our child will have me in there somewhere...But it is a boy."_

"What did you say?"

_"Nothing."_

"Willie."

_"Yes?"_

"Did you say that it was boy? As in confirmed?"

_"No, but I'd prefer one."_

"Really? You don't want one of each?"

_"Again, not lollipops...children Daniel, children."_

"Willie answer the question...What do you have against girls?"

_"Daniel I have two already and as you can see, I'm traumatized."_

With a chuckle, he switched the phone to the other side. "Yeah it's either that or you'll be jealous that you won't be the only woman in my life?"

_"Did you have a sudden self-esteem boost or did I miss something?"_

"Admit it Wils, you'd be jealous because you think I'd be head over heels for her."

_"Think? Daniel I am absolutely positive that you would buy her an island if she asked...She'd have you wrapped around her little finger."_

"And you want me to stay wrapped around yours?"

_"Stay? You're super-glued."_

"I love you Willie."

_"I love you too."_

"I'm sorry."

_"I'm over it."_

"Call me tomorrow."

_"How about you just stay on the phone?"_

"Do you want me to talk to you.."

_"No."_

"Then what do you want me to do?"

_"...Just...be there."_

**OoO**

"How are you feeling?" The Senator peeked back behind her dressing room as she sat alone, face made up and texting on her phone.

"Like hell. How about you?" She never looked up, eyes concentrated on the screen of her phone rather than her father that stood before her.

"I told you to go to bed early."

"And I told you to bite me." She snipped back at him. She surely wasn't used to being told what to do and considering it was her father who was attempting to boss her around.

The Senator rolled his eyes, choosing to look passed her comment rather than chastise her like he certainly wished to. "Have you spoken to Ms. Winfrey?"

"Okay one, her name is Oprah."

"And she is also a very good friend of mine...I expect you to treat her accordingly." Willie laughed, continue to text as she ignored him without comment, infuriating him even the more. "I don't see what's funny."

"Well than let me fill you in...I am 48 years old and I have a 25 year career in this industry...I have met Oprah Winfrey before...I have met the President of the United States, I have met Mick Jagger...I don't need etiquette lessons from you."

"Well you just seem to be a bit more..."

"Bitchy?"

"Your words not mine."

"Have you ever thought that it may be due to the fact that you lied to me and tricked me into being miserable, staying in a house with someone that I can't stand."

"You need to-"

"I don't need to do a damn thing." She got up from out of her chair and stood, looking in his eyes before he dropped the subject.

"Do you think this'll work?" His eyes flashed down to her stomach and she shrugged, taking a hint from the director who was giving her the nearing time signal.

"If coming back to Mode won't make people forget about everything that's happened...This will have to do."

**OoO**

"Come on Daniel it's about to start!" Betty bellowed as she and Marc sat close on the couch, making room for their boss as he slid in the room, fresh from work.

"Where's Ariel?" He questioned, plopping down as he loosened his tie.

"In the kitchen." She announced before running to the living room where the rest of them sat and awaited the program. Soon, Oprah's logo appeared before them and they saw her speaking but no sound.

"Marc you're sitting on the remote!" Daniels scolded as Betty slid it from beneath him and unmuted the television.

"I'm sorry but I'm, still just a little peeved that she left two weeks before the wedding! Who's going to fire my wedding planner now?"

"Marc!" They all scolded as Oprah's lips continued to move and the sound came up with every increasing interval.

_"-of our time. Today we take a look at true women of the spotlight. Women who have families, and careers. Fame and fortune. The admiration of some and the envy others...We take a look at these women and we ask the question, is the grass...really that greener? This is Oprah's Life lass."_

Betty peaked at Daniel momentarily to see what was going through his mind but he was intent on the screen, what was to happened next and just what would be the outcome of this interview...Her first interview since it all started.

_"25 years ago Wilhelmina Vivian Slater began her career as the assistant to the Editor-In-Chief of Mode magazine, the late Fey Sommers. In, what seems to be an apprenticeship, Ms. Slater elevated her career to that of a Supermodel, dominating runway walks and high-fashion. After the beginning of a whirlwind career, she took a step back and resumed a position beneath Fey Sommers as the Creative Director of Mode Magazine for 20 years before reaching the coveted position of Editor-In-Chief... A position that held exclusively by her now husband...Who is also her son's brother. How did this happen? Today we find out. Please help me to welcome, current Editor-In-Chief of Mode Magazine, Wilhelmina Slater!"_

Daniel looked to his side, seeing a cold beer extended his way. He took it, but knew that for this hour..He would need something a tad bit stronger.

**OoO**

She wore a MARC by Marc Jacobs dress with a total eclipse color scheme, the body being navy yet with a charmeuse contrast trim. It was distinguished by a boat neckline and wide half sleeves and a skirt that fell straight from the waist to above the knees in silk elegance. Yet, what he noticed wasn't her dress nor her 5 inch supposedly basic red suede platform Christian Louboutin pumps...It was the charmeuse silk belt like accessory that ran around her waist and tied right above...her stomach? She looked really pregnant...As if it was a confirmed fact and there was no doubt that she was pregnant...It was if it was strategically placed right above her bump to draw attention to it because he certainly was focused on it rather than her gathered bun or Johnny Bravo in the front...but her bump...He couldn't' stop staring at it.

"Why-Why would she do that...I thought we-"

"Calm down Daniel...It's classic Slater tactic...She has something up her sleeve...Just watch."

**OoO**

_"So your son is completely unaware that your husband is his brother?"_

It was halfway into the interview and they had already discussed her beginnings and were moving on into more recent events. Discussing Izak, the question of paternity came up once again and she was expecting it but the question was, how would she play it.

_"Well that's because my husband is not his brother...My husband is his father."_

On the other side of the screen Marc, Betty and Ariel sat agape as if they were watching an angsty movie, waiting to see what she would say next as Oprah's face took on a perplexed view and Daniel held his breath.

_"So...Are you saying that your husband actually fathered your son rather than your late fiancée Bradford Meade?"_

_"I'm saying that my son calls my husband Dad...Not Daniel."_

They went to commercial and Daniel got up, sweating and not knowing what to expect out of this interview. First the dress, and now her alluding to their long kept secret about Izak...What was she playing at and why hadn't she told him about it last night?

"OMG, look at this..." Ariel handed Daniel her phone and he squinted in confusion.

"What am I looking at?"

"Twitter feeds of you and mom..They're like ridiculously high….It's crazy…Mom is trending on three different threads."

"Let me see that.." Marc stood up, taking the phone so that he could see for himself. "No one is talking about the court cases anymore.."

"What are you talking about?"

"No one is talking about Ambrossi or your mother or the court orders...They're talking about Izak and her weight.."

"So what?"

"So what? If people stop talking about Ambrossi then it takes fuel away from the case and makes his family back off so she can come home."

"I don't understand how-"

"SHHH it's back on!"

**OoO**

"About 4 months ago, you left Meade Publications ,in which you are a partial owner, for Conde Nast, in which you were later fired after your Creative Director, the late Rodrigo Ambrossi, sued you for sexual harassment. The charges were later dropped but the drama ensued when he turned up dead at the hands of, first your father and then subsequently and surprisingly...your mother-in-law...People magazine referred to your family as _"Attention hungry leeches who will do anything to extend their 15 minutes.." _Were you shocked by the negative reaction and lack of support received during this time?"

"I really didn't notice to be quite honest. I don't really waste my time on 4 dollar magazines that are purposely put at Wal-Mart cash register...Quite frankly, the lack of support went completely unnoticed to me because I didn't really...care..about the public's opinion of me...With everything that has transpired, my family is more of a priority than a junior editor from People Magazine."

"That's a numb sentiment considering everything you've been through...I mean, anything you did seems to be twisted in the media."

"I know; which is why I have numbed myself to the reactions of the public...But even now it seems that even you think that I have more people against me then for me and that simply isn't true. I have found that no matter what I do, in the fashion industry, some people will never leave you."

"Speaking of leaving, you left Meade for your husband's enemy-Why?"

"Personal business matter...And now that I am back at Mode it shouldn't matter."

"Even if you're back because you were fired?"

"Exactly."

"I have a question."

"As you should, you are interviewing."

"Did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Did you solicit sexual favors from Rodrigo Ambrossi?"

"No I did not."

"Do you regret going to work for Conde Nast?"

"No."

"Even if it might have cost you your career?"

"I don't agree with saying that it cost me my career because being sued does nothing to hurt my capability...Yes it might've temporarily stained my reputation but in my business, who's cloth isn't a little bleached?"

"So you're in Chicago shortly after your mother-in-law confessed to the vehicular manslaughter of your accuser, were you surprised by her revelation."

"Not really...Everyone makes mistakes and Claire's just so happened to be a matter of life and death...And despite that...We will continue to stand behind her."

"We as in you and your husband?"

"Exactly..."

"So the divorce rumors are false?"

"100 percent false..."

"On to something a little bit lighter...Daniel Meade is younger than you correct?"

"Yes?"

"Does the age difference put a strain on the relationship?"

"I wouldn't say so, I mean there are the obvious aspects of children and of course getting older but negatively hindering us...I don't think so."

"Speaking of children...Can the fashion world look forward to any coming from the Meade household in the future?"

"I don't know..We'll have to see."

"Lastly...We recently got word that your daughter was writing a tell-all exposition book on being the daughter of Fashion Mogul Wilhelmina Slater."

"Excuse me?"

"Were you unaware?"

"Oh...I knew." And he knew she was lying.

"The presumed title is _Prada Pad-Locked Prison: The Hell Behind Being The Spawn of Wilhelmina Slater..._do you think that this will add fuel to the fire?"

"I...I don't know...We can only wait and see."

**OoO**

"Oh."

"My."

"Gabanna."

They all turned to look at Ariel and she shrugged, innocently, hands up as if to surrender. "Hey, I failed English...I'm not writing a book."

"You know she didn't know.." Daniel stood once again, passing the floor. "Did you see her face?"

"What's the Twitter feed saying?" Marc inquired, pulling Ariel's phone to him.

"They're still on Izak..Not many tweets about the book.."

"I'm going to go call her."

**OoO**

"Wanda-"

"Stay the hell away from me!" She stormed down the hall. She walked down the corridor. She turned to look at no one. She locked eyes...With no one.

Her blood was boiling. Her pressure was rising. Her ears were hot. She had been tricked, bamboozled, blind-sided all in a matter of minutes. It had all blown up in her face, it had all come back to bite her and she hadn't expected it. Everything was going to plan, according to her phone as she checked her twitter feed on every commercial break. Everyone was discussing her physique, Izak, Daniel and her...No one spoke about Ambrossi until they found out about the book. Now everyone is wondering if the accounts of the murder will be included, if she had inside details on the harassment, the leave from Mode...Nothing worked...IT was all in vain...She had come to Chicago for absolutely nothing.

"Wanda!"

"I swear to God if you touch me again I will sue you for fraud!"

"Fraud?"

"Yes fraud! You tricked me into coming here just so you can what-Promote Nico's book? Give Renee and her the satisfaction of everything I go through! I dealt with staying in a house with them but I refuse to be ridiculed like a damn caricature on national TV. THAT, I will not do!"

"Wanda!"

"My name is Wilhelmina!" She was in the cold and the door had slammed long before her, echoing into the distance as her heels clicked against the snow covered gravel and she began to blend in when the flakes hit her again. With only a phone, she had headed to the town car, away from the people, away from the cameras, away from the world.

Was everyone just using her? Was that all she was to someone, a tool? A utensil for their own deed? Something to be casted away and used before...Left rusted...broken...chipped...Her own family? Was that how her own family saw her? A chipped tool?

Before she could even dial his number, the phone was vibrating against her fingers and immediately she answered, pressing the phone to her ear so that all he could hear was the silence on the other side. She didn't have to say anything for him to know her mood...her reaction. She was not going to cry...She was not going to yell...She was not going to speak.

"I remember when we were talking about our pasts and you told me about her father...And what he said to me...you told me what you went through...You told me your past...There is nothing in that book that can hurt us...There is nothing in that book that can tarnish our reputation...Who can stand against us with each other as partners?"

She clicked off her phone, knowing that it was all she needed to hear to get her through an hour of press following her trying to get a statement. Another hour of getting home in traffic...Another couple hours sitting at home watching Fashion Buzz go into a Tizzy over the news...But it said nothing about tomorrow.

**OoO**

"Did you talk to her?" Betty inquired as the rest of them took a seat at the island.

"Since when do you care about La Slater?" Marc asked, slipping into a nearby stool.

Her eyes flicked up momentarily at Daniel, only the two of them knowing their conversation. "She should probably calm down..." She changed the subject.

"Yup...Not good for the _Piquito Bambino _huh Betty?" And Marc didn't even notice, even going as far as to go along with the subject.

"Marc that's offensive..."

"Bambino? I failed English but I passed Spanish..."

"Oddly enough.." Marc quipped.

"What baby?"

"Hmm?" Daniel looked up as if he was oblivious to the conversation.

"Baby...What baby?"

"Oh...Izak...When Wilhelmina gets upset he gets upset."

"But she's not here..."

"They have...telepathy."

"They're not twins."

"Yeah...They actually are."

"Daniel."

"Yes?"

"What's going on?"

"Uhhh." Saved by the bell, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he picked up, looking through his messages.

_Be prepared to bail me out of jail._

_**-Bitches**_

"Okay guys..." They all looked up, Ariel confused and Marc not sure if she tell her while Betty was silent, knowing it was not her place. "Who wants to babysit?"

**OoO**

The sky was a midnight blue and the time...was about midnight. She sat up in bed, looking over the virtually sent Mode book that Marc had emailed her, filling her time and avoiding the obvious. She blocked her own twitter and access to the media, choosing not to indulge in what they would say. Had it not been for the snow, she probably would have jumped on a plane but all the flights were canceled and she was stuck in the room she used to stay in as a child on family vacations...She hated that room...IT was pink and she hated pink...She brought her own sheets thank God, her skin probably would have turned red at the touch of cotton.

It helped none that her daughter and her sister were practically next door probably laughing at her...She couldn't understand how Nico could...forgive the woman that gave her up and ostracize the woman that raised her..._Okay, I wasn't the perfect mother...I had a career...I'm sorry...I had a busy life...I'm sorry...But how else would someone distract themselves from their husband's affair with their sister? I...I did what I could...I was put in a...compromising position and ultimately I chose her over my blood daughter! I did! And no one wants to acknowledge that! All anyone cares about is the fact that she was in boarding school and I was always working. But tell me...how do you deal with pain when your only example of dealing with is a man who's first love is his home office?_

I'm trying to distract myself from work but it's just not working and the silence is beginning to get to me...That is..until it's not silent anymore and it's the bristling in the bushes that is agitating me now...This house ridiculously tall and the fact that I can hear somebody's feet shuffling against the side is making me think twice before I get my bat...And then I see a hand...And another hand...And a face and I realize that he probably didn't want to pay the bail money.

**OoO**

"All of the flights are cancelled. How did you get a flight in?"

"Meade Jet...Life is much easier when you run the company." Standing in the middle of the room, I realize that he's soaking wet from melted snowflakes and I close the laptop lid only to sit on my knees on the bed, ushering him closer.

"This is crazy..." It truly is...My husband just snuck up my window like a damn teenager! Not that it doesn't make me feel 100 times better to know that I have someone finally on my side.

"C'mere..." I got to take his shirt off and he smirks...I said it! TEENAGER! "I don't want you to get a cold..." But he is still a child and goes for a kiss and as a grown woman...I don't object...I'm stressed, okay?

Before I know it, I'm on my back but supply comes before demand and I push him off, curls flying in my face. "Do NOT get on my bed with those street clothes...I just got the sheets washed and it's my only set..."

He backs off and fumbles with his belt, looking at me while I move the computer to its case and onto the floor. "You finally bought maternity clothes?"

Looking down at this damn lacy negligee, I realize that he is probably feeling some satisfaction. "Shut up...And It's still La Pearla so it doesn't technically count."

Finally in some clothes that I don't cringe at, he tries to climb in and I stop him...Because although he does look very sexy...And very Prince Charming like climbing up a damn window...He did just that...HE climbed up a window...And came through the snow...For me...To save me.

"I love you..."

Feeling his lips against mine, body pressed into mine...I relish in the moment...I forget...Everything and for a moment...Just that night...Just that moment...It was the two of us.

"I missed you so much..." His words vibrate against the pine of my neck and I admit...I'm done, I can't take it anymore! I SURRENDER!"

For that night I forgot...Even if it was just for a moment...I did forget. He did that...for me.

**OoO**


	26. The Advesary

A peaking sun reveals itself and casts a orange shadow upon the white covered grass. The snow falls, reflecting that orange glow in a pristine distance only to pile up upon each other and be made into mountains. Snowflake by snowflake, a monument of winter in its prime; Distractingly gorgeous. Dangerously exciting; hazardously lovely...Snow; The essence of winter.

Yet when Daniel Meade awakes to the orange cast of the sun, a keyboard buzzing in his ear and the first sight of snow...The essence of winter is not something he sees. Flipping his eyes to the side that his back was turned to, he saw Willie, propped up by most of the pillows on the bed, typing on the computer with one hand, holding a Pint of ice cream in the other, full out in her negligee in glasses.

"You are aware that it's..." -He checked the clock- "...7 am, right?"

Without looking up, she responded with her eyes boring into the screen before her. "You are aware that this..." -She motions at her stomach- "Is your child, right?"

"Touché..." He chuckles against her skin after leaning up to peck her lips, in which he did but was unsuccessful in his attempt to swipe her ice cream...Because she hit him. "Okay Wils, it's called pain!"

She smiled, pinching his cheek briefly before returning her attention to the screen. "You're so cute when you're hurt."

"Hurt...I'm hungry..." He whispered, getting out of the bed and straightening the line. She pointed to the closet and he followed suit, not really knowing why.

"Who's watching Izak?"

"Ariel..."

"She didn't mind?"

"Okay, Willie why do you have a mini fridge in your closet?"

"You're the one that said you were hungry."

"And I hate everything in here."

"You didn't bring any food?"

He moped back in as she placed her ice cream on a desk protector, sliding the computer from her reach. Seeing his bottom lip, she rolled her eyes, sitting up a bit. "Daniel..."

"I didn't think I had to..."

"Well don't pout.." He looked up once more and she growled, seeing those damned blue eyes looking back at her like a weeping child or sick puppy and due to only two reasons did she then slide her feet off the bed; She got emotional over macaroni art let alone his eyes and...She didn't want to hear him bitch all day. "I'll take you to the store but we pull out in an hour..."

"I love you..." He smiled before kissing her quickly in which she pinched his ear.

"You're such a child..."

"For being hungry?"

Laughing, she got up. "I'm getting in the shower..." She sung happily, already in the bathroom archway by the time he turned back around to see her there.

"Wait, won't they get suspicious if they hear us run two showers?"

She shrugged. "Well then I'll just leave the water on after I'm done..." He looked at her and she couldn't keep up her facade, the smirk becoming apparent on her face as he neared her, bringing her within mere centimeters from him.

"Or..." Before she knew it, they were right back where they were the night before and again, she couldn't resist him. "We could save the Earth...Conserve water..." She turns her back to him, slipping her fingers to intertwine with his, softly tugging at him to follow her, leading him to chuckle at her nonchalant behavior. "We are soooo eco-friendly."

**OoO**

"Daniel wait..." She fought half-heartedly, her words saying no but her body saying yes as he backed her up at every waking moment. In the shower, after the shower, getting dressed, hiding out, now...His lips never seemed to leave hers.

And she didn't have a problem with that, but again, she did have to breathe. But respiratory needs took a backseat when he was like this with her. She didn't know what inspired it or what kept it going but this, '_Can't keep my hands off you' _attitude was something that she could get used to.

Backing up steadily, their mouths collided, in the heat of their bodies, in the heat of their moment...Until they heard a thump.

"I'm sorry...Didn't...mean...to..." He spoke between kisses, attempting to pat the spot in which her head just knocked against the door but she didn't seem to care, breath uneven and pupils wide.

"Don't worry about it...Pain is an aphrodisiac." A devious smile coursed her lips and he grinned, scared yet excited, turned on yet frightened out of his mind, especially when she finally took control, grabbing his shirt collar and bringing him closer.

Startled by her strength, he spoke between their embraces. "Willie...that's...Arm...Armani..."

She yoked him back, holding onto his collar with a lifted brow. "You tore my night gown."

He shrugged, deciding to forget about it and just lift her, gently tossing her effortlessly on to the bed behind them. "I'll buy you a new one."

"Agreed." She nodded and his body came atop of hers, tracing the outline of her jaw before hearing the door open behind them. He jumped up, leaving her to be the sight, head looking up from the bed, body laid back.

Wilhelmina looked at him shortly before waiving in the older maid in. She complied and Daniel looked to Willie in confusion before she reached out for him to help her up, in which he reacted quickly so that she could explain quickly...But the uniformed elder beat her to it.

"Some things never change...More boys have seen the inside of this room than California has seen Earthquakes."

Heavily breathing and a little embarrassed, Daniel adjusted his collar, turning around briefly to catch his breath before Willie turned him back around, pushing him forward a bit. "Mona this is not some boy...This is my husband Daniel...Daniel this is my...blank...Mona."

"Blank? I work for your father...40 years and I get what? A blank?" Her thick Panamanian accent began to show forth through her thick syllables and eradication of certain conjunctions but he could tell by the smile on Willie's face...She was welcome.

"I thought you locked the door..." He led on.

"She did...I have a key..." Mona held up a silver key that she had tucked in her apron before raising a brow, setting the towels on the bed and turning to lock the door again. "Now is anyone going to explain this mess I see or is Mr. Danny here just going to stare at me and sweat..."

Wilhelmina looked up at Daniel and chuckled, seeing that upper lip sweat that she always warns him about. Mona craned her neck a bit and scoffed. "Dirty girl...Dirty Dirty girl..." With a chuckle she went to the other side of the bed, stripping it of its sheets and coverings.

Daniel glanced at Willie and she laughed, moving her thumb to the center of his neck. "My lipstick..."

"Dammit..It's the red one isn't it? Last time that took days to get off!" He panicked, rubbing at the spot she just did.

"That's because it wasn't a lip print it was a bite mark..." she whispered yet Mona heard, looking up above her glasses as she collected the sheets."And besides..." She leaned into him slowly. "You're the one who gets turned on by red lips...not me...You..."

"This is a sick generation..." Mona mumbled, stripping the pillowcases.

"Mona...Do you mind not mentioning this to..."

"To Charles? Oh please, the man barely notices me anymore..."

"Just...in case...Don't mention it..."

"Don't worry about it...Oh and you have a missed call downstairs."

"For?"

"Some Chile pepper...Calls himself Kazooki..."

"Kazooki?...Ka..Are you talking about Suzuki?"

"Yea...That pepper...He called wanting to know if you had any comments about the way Oprah treated you yesterday."

"Treated me?"

"Yup...It's all over the big screen downstairs mami, you should check it out..."

"Mona?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind distracting the devil and his demons downstairs so I can get..." She motions at Daniel. "Him out of here."

"Oh...But sweaty just got here.."

"Daniel Mona...Daniel...And we're just going out really quick..."

"And what if someone catches you and takes your picture...The moment your father finds out and if he even thinks I knew, he'll have my head and Sweaty's _cochino's _on his new desk!"

"Calm down Mona...We'll be careful...Very...very careful.."

"And pay attention to the road...No biting and driving!"

**OoO**

"Wilhelmina are you okay?"

They had been sitting in the back of her rental car outside the house for about a half an hour, windows tinted and rolled up. For some reason, they couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other and found themselves in a compromising position in the back seat, her legs straddling his waist with no shame. There was no problem...That is, until she let out a staggered breath that whimpered as her head fell to his shoulder, breathing heavily and out of breath.

"Willie..." He called out, beginning to shift beneath her to tighten his belt buckle. He wondered if he had hurt her, pushed her too hard, done something unusual because she wasn't responding, just breathing...just existing.

"Was it too much? I'm sorry...I know you're exhausted and this didn't help but I couldn't help myself and you didn't say no so-" He thought that she was capoot...That he had worn her out...That she couldn't handle it...But seeing her lift her head to reveal a devious smirk, remote in hand as the back of his seat began to incline slowly and she sat atop of him...He knew...That she was just getting started.

**OoO**

Mona Juliana Rojas had seen many things her life while working for the Slater family...She'd seen a ten-year old set fire to a car...She'd seen a 13-year old devise a master plan to evade boarding school. She had seen the demise of a marriage and she had seen a snake slither her way into a family fortune...She thought she had seen it all, that is until she was outside getting the mail only to see that, now grown up 13-year old sitting on top of her husband in the backseat of the car...doing...just what the hell she knew they were doing.

**OoO**

"Willie, Willie!" Daniel exclaimed jerking up from his laying position as he saw Mona's face pressed p against the glass, horror bestowed upon her face.

Wilhelmina's head whipped around and Mona growled, her fingers writing letters onto the foggy window. "What does that say?"

Daniel shrugged, craning his neck sideways to read the misshapen letters. "My...Eyeeeeees." Wilhelmina chuckled and Daniel looked down, motioning his hands as if to suggest they get out of that position and she nodded with a laugh as Mona pounded on the front seat window and Willie moved to open it.

"Yes, Mona?"

"As much as I want to yell at you right now, you should probably tell Sweaty to zip-it-up because Charles is coming over here in about 30 seconds."

Wilhelmina's eyes widened and she pushed Daniel down flat in the back as if to shield him, covering him with the blanket that came with the car, covered in Mercedes-Benzes emblems. She opened the second door and climbed out, tripping over her boots only to land in Mona's arms clumsily.

"Are you drunk too?"

"No I'm pregnant."

"What? I thought you were just gaining weight from all that drinking you do in those magazines."

"What?" Willie questioned offensively as she climbed into the front seat, slamming the door just as the Senator approached and Mona waved a sheepish goodbye. She, in a flustered manner, rolled down the window with a stern face, looking unimpressed as he leaned in breathing hot clouds that began to condensate in the cool midst.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're okay...You've been out here for some time now..."

"I'm fine." She responded icily.

"Listen, can we just talk about what happ-"

"No. I have to go.." She moved the car into drive and he held on, pressing against the car as if to halt her.

"Wait!...Wanda wait."

"My name is Wilhelmina."

"Wilhelmina...I'm sorry...I just want to talk."

"Well I have to go and quite frankly, I don't want to talk to you right now.."

"Okay...But...At least wear a coat out here..It 's freezing."

"It's in the back..."

"I'll get it."

"No I'm fine." She shut him down angrily before moving to pull away abruptly and leave him briskly in the cold. Once she had pulled onto the highway, Daniel lifted the sheet and perched his head on the chair beside her silently...but only for a moment.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?"

"Considering the hell I'm going through being in that house, I'd consider it lenient."

"That's the humblest I've ever seen him."

"Yeah, well Senator Slater had many sides that you haven't seen...the humble nice guy is only the tip of the iceberg."

He left her alone on the topic and only spoke again when he saw the red light blinking in front of her. "Wils..."

"Yeah?"

"The gas light is on."

"The gas light?"

He pointed and she looked briefly, not knowing what it meant. "You're running low on gas..."

"What does that mean?" She turned around shortly only to turn back around and he chuckled, pointing at the nearest exit.

"Get off here..."

**OoO**

"I've never had to get gas before..." She complained, taking her seatbelt off after pulling up to a pump.

"That's because I do it for you..." He answered, getting out only to be pushed back in by her.

"But you can't do it now..What if someone sees you?"

"Willie, it took us three times to get here because you kept pulling up to the wrong side of the car..."

"Just tell me how to do it from the window!" She got out and he rolled down the window, handing her his credit card.

"Swipe it..."

"Okay..."

"Take the nozzle..."

"What nozzle?"

"To the left..."

"There is no Nozzle..."

"To the left Willie."

"Oh...What the hell is this...?"

"Now go back to the screen and choose your type of gas..."

"Hmmm which one is more expensive?"

"Willie..."

"Diesel..."

"Willie get in the car."

"What?"

"You will not put Diesel fuel in a Mercedes Benz, get in the car." He ordered before getting out and opening the car for her in which she smirked, forgetting the probability of someone seeing him as he took the nozzle.

"Diesel fuel...IN A BENZ!" He scorned before hooking the pump into the vehicle, shaking his head in her direction.

She smirked, not wanting to do it anyway and happy that her hands did not have to embrace the greasy grime that was the handle. "Thank you honey..."

He shook his head with a scoff. "You are sooooo spoiled.

**OoO**

They had been in the Fresh Market for about 30 minutes and the cart...was empty. This was due in part to the fact that everything he put in the cart was removed. Everything he looked at was laughed at and if even thought about getting something stupid she would look at him and ultimately end the prospect.

"You're no fun." He pouted, stopping the cart from its movement as she moved behind it.

"Daniel I don't do grocery shopping...I don't like grocery shopping and if you're going to pick up everything that has the appeal of bad breath or nausea...you're not getting it."

"Pita Chips make you nauseous?"

"No...But the bag is ugly."

Daniel rolled his eyes as he crossed the floor to get to her, now holding her shoulders playfully. "Woman..." He began, striking an indented eyebrow that seemed to heighten on his forehead as he attempted to steer from trouble. "I am starving and I am going to get what I want."

"Meade." She grabbed his shoulders. "I am carrying your child and if I say no...you're not getting it.."

"Why are you so mean to me?"

"Why are you such a baby?"

"I'm a baby because I'm hungry?"

"You're a baby because I had perfectly good food at the house and you refused to eat it because you didn't _like it._"

"Willie, honey...You are the only person in the world I know...who likes caviar ice cream."

"I was testing it."

"It's disgusting."

"You're not getting the Pita Chips."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"Fine." She spun on her heels and proceeded to push the cart down the hall with a strut, leaving him there in confusion until he noted her walk and made his way to her with a signature finger wag.

"Wait a minute, that is not just some ordinary _fine. _That's the no sex _fine._"

"And?"

"That's not fair!"

"And?" She lifted a brow and he rolled his eyes, snatching the bag from the cart and placing the Pita Chips on a random shelf before turning back to her grinning face.

"Fine."

"Ahhh the _fine _of submission." She pecked his lips randomly as he pouted before moving on in the aisle. "Love you honey."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

**OoO**

Walking into the kitchen was like walking into a battlefield with rifles pointed in her direction as if they would hasten to shoot with so much as a hint of an ill move. Seeing Nico and Renee sitting at the counter, she ignored them and set the two paper bags on the counter to give her arms a break as her father came downstairs. She wished they hadn't gotten so many things because they would start to get suspicious and that is exactly what ended up happening.

"You don't eat pretzels." The Senator commented at the bag sticking out of the even larger bag that sat atop of the counter.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." She changed the subject immediately and abruptly, the content of that change catching all three of them off guard.

"Wilhelmina we discussed this."

"No we didn't discuss this...You talked and I pretended to listen..Now I'm going home and there is nothing that you can do about it...The Oprah plan worked and Ambrossi's family has backed off...Plus I have a company to run..."

"What about Daniel?"

"I own the company."

"You married the company..." Renee mumbled under her breath as she and Nico pretended to be absorbed in a magazine of sweaty men and bulging muscles.

"Who told the Prozac junkie to talk to me?"

"The same person that told you to buy a Stairmaster fatass."

"Alright girls, that's enough." The Senator stopped them before it got any further, stepping between the two quickly.

"You know what Wilhelmina, why don't you just go lie on a railroad track and make us all happy...No one gives a damn about you just like you don't give a damn about anyone else."

"Renee!"

"There' a railroad track about 5 minutes from here..."

"Renee be quiet."

Wilhelmina was silent, continue to rustle in the grocery bag as if to look for something but was really doing nothing. She needed to distract herself, do something with her hands so they didn't end up around Renee's neck...And then she had a thought...And evil thought...but a thought nonetheless.

"Honey I need your help!" She shouted loud enough to be heard inside the garage which was on the other side of the kitchen.

Renee scoffed. "Oh now she talks to herself."

Within seconds, the door opened and Daniel came through hurriedly and nonchalant despite his shock to see Nico, Renee and the Senator staring back at him. he was greeted with a kiss from Willie who then handed him a paper bag and turned to look at Renee's hands that were gripping dangerously at the table top with jealously...Seeing her sister happy...her sister with another man..with her man...with her Daniel.

"Wait baby, let me take that..." She smirked, loving the fact that he didn't even know her plan but knew to throw in the extra nickname of affection as he told her to hand over the bag that she was holding. "I don't want you carrying something so heavy..."

They all watched in shock, especially the Senator as they turned the bend and disappeared..but only for a moment because Wilhelmina's head soon reappeared with a smirk. "Oh and Renee..I heard that there is a railroad track about 5 minutes away from here that you might want to lay on...do us all a favor hmmm?"

Oh her sister was evil...And that was something that Renee would never forget...nor forgive.

**OoO**


	27. A Feeling

"I'll be back." This came as a mumbling whisper in the night that seemed to wake him up completely seeing how it was only 12am rather than her usual 3am wake-up arousal. By the time his eyes had opened to object while she was still beside him, only rolled over so that his eyes locked with hers with any movement of them.

With a swift kiss, he questioned her actions. "Where are you going?"

"Thirsty..."

"No...Every time you get water in the middle of the night you have to pee like three times after that."

"That's disgusting." She grimaced at him before rolling off that side of the bed and making it to her feet. "And it's your fault anyway."

"If you want, I can get it for you."

"No that's okay."

"Why? Afraid your sister's going to set me on fire while I'm down there?"

She chuckled, opening the door just a crack. "Just a tad..." Silently, she crept down the hallway that seemed to linger on forever in an endless collection of white doors and silver doorknobs. Eventually she was led to the staircase but was halted by the sounds of resounding voices being mimicked from the white walls. That added to the essence of the home...The ability to echo noises as small as a pin dropping with the magnification of an _IMAX_ theatre. Normally, she would have ignored it and went downstairs anyway but...she couldn't...Not with what she was hearing.

_"Get off my damn back!"_

_"Get off the damn drugs!"_

_"They're prescription medication!"_

_"For what? You're not in pain! I'm in pain..."_

_"Pain? You've been a damn princess all of your life and you were handed everything...You don't even know what pain looks like!"_

_"Oh well, I know what crazy looks like and it's written all up and down your face."_

_"Just go to bed...spoiled brat..."_

_"Says the raging pyromaniac."_

_(Smack)_

_"Don't...You ever talk to me like that..." (Sobbing) "I...I'm trying to build a relationship.. I am trying to be your friend. How am I supposed to do that if you make me hit you..."_

_"I don't need a friend! I need a mother."_

Hearing the impending footsteps, she steps aside into the dark hallway only to see that it is Nico running, holding her face. The young girl stops, the back of her head pressed against the back wall before she slid down in a quiet hysteria of tears. Her weeping...It sounded so...painful...As if it was full of hurt...and depression. Her mother, her true mother fought the urge to stay in her place and not run to her, not comfort...Not be that mother that her daughter longed for.

Because she had long been fired from the job.

No longer feeling the urge to quench her thirst, she retreated back to the bedroom with an uneasiness. Daniel was sleeping, and the darkness...oh the darkness. Before it was as if the moon was offering a bit of light to see but not...it was as if it was offering a consolation for casting such a shadow. She honestly didn't know how to feel at that point, or even what to do. She was helpless...Nico was writing a book about her and obviously hated her but...Obviously needed her. She didn't know how to approach the situation...And probably wouldn't rest until she figured out how.

**OoO**

_The orange crackles lighting the sky. The gray hue of smoke creating a haze that banishes the moon into the abyss. The faded screams, rasped by exposure and heat illuminating from its essence. It is fire. The house is on fire. And Nico is inside. I can do nothing. I just stand and watch as my sister is carted off into an ambulance on her way to a mental treatment center...The red in her eyes now matching the flames that fit the crumbling stature that was my family's Chicago home. Daniel is behind me. The Senator is beside me. Mona is in front of me and Nico...Is inside, succumbing to the orange crackles, the gray hue, the haze, the heat, the flames; the fire._

She had run the brush against her cheek nearly ten times at that point as she played the dream once again. Though she didn't mind because the lack of sleep was apparent on her face and the extra makeup was probably for the best. All night she lay awake becoming a caterpillar by rolling deep within the covers, never asleep and never awake..Just...existing with a never-ending nightmare playing in her mind.

Since waking up she was plagued by a sense of uneasiness...A queasiness in the pit of her stomach...A pang in her gut with every thought of a flame...Her mind running in circles as she attempted to wrap her head around what reality was trying to inform her of. Was something about to take place? Had something taken place that she was not aware of? What exactly had been going on in Chicago?

"Are you ready?"

"Almost..." She spoke softly, spinning on the small stool that faced her mirror wearing a crimson David Meister sunburst pleat burst dress with the pleats coming from the side contouring the fit of her waist and hugging her curves for a voluptuous finish. Completed with a round neckline and cap sleeves, paired with Charlotte Olympia's signature leopard print platform pumps.

Sure she looked amazing, but she felt...atrocious.

"Are you alright?" His question came after seeing her staring into the distance for a moment, hand planted firmly on the bump that threatened to tip her scale past the number she swore never to go passed.

"I'm fine...I'm just...exhausted.."

"Well it is 7 am and you have a tendency to get up at 1...in the afternoon."

"I'm on vacation." She retorted playfully, feeling his arms wrap around her from behind.

"Why don't you rest a bit and I will get the luggage downstairs..."

"You only bought 1 bag..."

"And you have 17...Not counting your shoes..."

"That's not true!"

**OoO**

"Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye." At that point, she thought that she was done. At that point she thought that she was fine. The doors were closed, the windows were up, they had pulled out into the distance and she...had thought wrong.

She was looking out the window when the panic set in. The hand tremors. The chest pains. The heavy breathing. The dizziness...And the feeling that something was wrong.

Her mind couldn't detach itself from what she had heard in the previous night. Her mind couldn't forget the everbescent flame as it coursed through the home. She knew she wasn't overreacting...She knew she wasn't being a drama queen. Something was about to happen. Something terrible.

What she didn't know was that she was squeezing his hand to the point of redness before realizing that he no longer had feeling in that hand. She pressed the other hand to her chest before letting go of his hand and rolling down the window, hoping that the air would rid her of her thoughts, of her preemption. She was praying that she was wrong, that she just having a panic attack...That it was a figment of her imagination.

But deep down inside...She knew that it wasn't.

"Turn around! Turn the car around!"

"Wilhe-"

"Turn around!" He did as he was told without question as she yelled at him, knowing that she couldn't leave, not yet. The house had been eerily quiet that morning and she assumed that everyone was sleeping, so she left without saying anything but she had to...She had to get to Nico...For some reason...She just had to.

"Wilhelmina what's going on?" Daniel questioned, looking around as he continued to turn.

"Go back to the house."

"I am! I am! I just...What's going on?"

"Just drive...Just go back to the house."

In her mind she didn't have time to explain. It was a thirty minute drive from where she was to the house yet he made it there in twenty successfully without asking her the inevitable. He thought that she had lost something, that she had left something, that she didn't have her phone...But he never thought that it might be because she didn't have her daughter.

She didn't know why, but since that night...Her mothering instinct had rekindled for the young girl that disowned her as her mother...Who tried to steal from her, ruin her; blackmail her. She forgot..That night she forgot and all she could see was the girl she raised being in trouble and no one being able to see it but her. That's why Daniel was forced to halt the vehicle at the mere sight of the driveway because she had run out, her coat flapping in the flowing snow. She was halfway out the car when she saw two officers at the front door and all she could remember was getting pushed out of the way the day her mother died, the senator at the door facing two balding police officer...And when the man that now stood on the high stairway revealed his balding scalp, taking his hat to his chest as the Senator's head dipped below her sight and she...she couldn't take it.

"No..." Nearly inaudible as a cautious whisper that rode the wind as she stood in her coat, bracing the winter cold with a frozen stature. She watched as her father, never a man to cry, nodded and grabbed his hat and coat from the nearby rack to follow the officers. He didn't see her until they moved. He didn't see her standing in the snow, standing in the cold, he didn't see Wilhelmina...He saw Wanda...

Daniel had exited as well, standing a safe distance away as the scene transpired. Everything had happened soooo quickly...so crazily. But when she looked in his eyes, she knew.

Unfortunately, she knew.

OoO

_Read & Review :D _


	28. Going, Going, Gone

**IMPORTANT:**

_My God, you all do not know how much your encouraging words mean to me. My 200th review just so happened to be one of the best reviews that I have ever received. No it was not long, no it was not wordy or filled with exclamations and emoticons...but appreciation. And that's what motivates a writer...this writer. When I know that I'm not writing to a barren wall, when I know that my words have not fallen on still ground. It does my soul well, especially considering the stirring truth that people are steadily leaving this fandom, writer's abandoning their stories. I needed to know that people are still out there. And I know this may sound corny or something but this is how I truly feel truly how I feel and I just hope that I can succeed in not disappointing you with this story. I appreciate it so very much. (Wistful)_

_Thank You._

"Well if you stop screaming in my ear, then maybe I can get an answer!" Marc's hand pressed harshly against the receiver as he popped his head in Wilhelmina's office as if to trek on still waters. She seemed to be fine, her hair pulled back into an elaborate back bun that was valorized with a 1950's swoop in the front. Her face was defined by a light smoky eye and classic red lip, sparkled through Roberto Coin's signature hoops that matched the David Yerman diamond sable cuff on her wrist. Her outfit was otherwise somber with an Anne Klein Belted Dress that held an accentuated V Neck and a sleek belt that lent a waist-cinching polish to her look. Nope, she looked just fine, her feet crossed at the ankles in dramatic Giuseppe Zanotti pumps that were adorned in a textured grid that rested on a suede voluptuous silhouette.

IT was snowing profusely and many had not showed up to work that day, claiming that the weather was impossible to get through yet she...She sat at her desk scanning editorial photos and reviewing submitted articles for the upcoming issue. In one night, she managed to put together an entire issue all by her lonesome with no help from anyone else but herself. In the midst of a blizzard, in the midst of a storm, in the midst of a crisis...She could think...She could improvise...She could provide. She was the strong one.

Yet, she failed to inform her husband that she would be being the strong one that night, staying up all night in her office and never returning home. Which is why Marc was slowly but surely losing his hearing to the screaming voice that began to scar his eardrums.

Still holding the receiver at a safe distance, he stood in the doorway and waited for her to take a momentary breath before interrupting. "Willie..."

She stopped, her head rising slightly to acknowledge him before she set her chin on the bridge of her hands as she feigned interest. "Yes?"

"Daniel...Is on the line and he's a little concerned about you apparently not returning home last night." He grimaced, watching her blank expression.

She sighed, shifting her chin to lift her head and lay her hand on her own phone line. "Switch him over." Marc nodded and left, going to the new intern's desk, pushing him out of the way to complete his task.

Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she paused to purse her crimson lips before picking up the phone and facing the inevitable music. "Hello?" She greeted calmly and quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

_"Hello? HELLO, That's all you have to say to the man that has waited for you all night worried sick because you never came home and refused to pick up the phone Wilhelmina! In the middle of a blizzard! There was a blackout and I had no idea where the hell you were and that scares the fucking hell out of me! Do you understand how crazy this has been!"_

"Are you done?" She questioned in a serene tone, never moving from her stance.

"Am I done? You never came home!"

"Are you done now?"

"Yes..." She could hear him huff on the other side, probably rubbing his eyebrows or scratching at the budding beard that she planned to shave in his sleep after drugging him. God, she hated that thing...But some days...it did make him look older...sexier...some days...some rare days...But she still hated it. "Are you at least alright?"

"I'm fine..."

"Your father called."

"About?"

"He asked about...The plans...And I told him some of it but not all...Do you want me to?"

"You can..."

"All of it?"

"Just...Tell him that...the...bo-body was flown out by the Meade Jet 2 days ago after the autopsy and...Right now she's at the Sinai Chapels funeral home and...The service will be held this Friday at Evangel Temple."

"Those are both Jewish facilities."

"I know...She converted."

"Since?"

"Can we not talk about this please?" With an exasperated release of breath hat she did intentionally heavy over the phone so that he could get the drift, she asked of him to change the subject so she didn't feel the need to get emotional. She had kept her composure that long; she was not going to start getting hysterical now...Not now.

"Uhh...Izak...He's been asking about you..."

"Is he behaving?"

"He's...normal..." He chuckled and she was silent, not really bringing herself to have a joyful...expression. Not now. "Actually...I think that it may be time to tell him."

"I don't think so."

"Well he asked me why mommy is getting fat according to the guy on TV..."

"Suzuki?"

"Yup."

"Hey, can we talk about this later..."

"Oh...okay...I'll be to the office in about an hour depending on the traffic." She nodded despite that fact that he couldn't see her, hanging up as her eyes focused on the person that stood before her holding a vase of rare white ambrosia roses.

Alexis.

"Can I help you?" Her tone was cold, not really wanting much to do with the woman after everything that had transpired. They were find, friends, best-friends sometimes and sisters even at rare times yet when things got rough, Alexis was the first one to turn on her. This is why she didn't trust people. This is why she didn't respect people. This is why she didn't have friendships...Because they don't last.

Alexis set the vase on her desk quietly, standing before her in a Herve Ledger bandage dress that clung to her, hair crimped on her shoulders. She seemed to be at a loss for words, a loss for what to say. She knew that their arguments had been done in the heat of the moment but she still couldn't bring herself to look her sister-in-law in the eyes because...She knew that she was wrong. Her pride had gotten in the way and...It took a tragedy for her to realize how short life really was.

"I can't read minds, you know?" Wilhelmina quipped in reference to the awkward silence in which Alexis immediately responded, yet not without hesitation.

"Well can you accept...a sincere apology?"

"I don't want your sympathy."

"Well you have it anyway so stop being such a stubborn bitch and accept it!" That camaraderie...That relationship that they had.

But she still wouldn't smile. "Fine...you're forgiven...Now leave...The more I stare at you, the more I take notice of how manly your features are."

Alexis nodded, smirking on the inside with their ability to be mad as hell with each other yet be able to get back to where they used to be with a few desperate jabs and quips. Clinging to the doorframe, she stopped, not knowing if she should say anything or not. Her eyes looked back and she found her fiddling with the petal on one of the flowers aimlessly.

"Wilhelmina..." Quickly, she snapped out of her trance and looked up as if her privacy had been invaded. "I...I am truly sorry for...for your loss."

She did not respond, only looking ahead as if to tell Alexis to exit with her eyes. Feeling the swell of water rise to the cliff of her eyes, she plucked the petal from the flower and pressed it to her nose for a swift second before brushing the texture between the softness of its wall and the delicate manner in which she handled it...So delicate...So fragile...Gone...Too soon.

No, hold it in. She held it in, sucking up all of her tears and composing herself before reopening her computer screen and pulling the documents towards her. Nope...Not now.

**OoO**

"Oh my Gosh, is that mini-Willie?" Amanda squealed, seeing Izak holding onto Daniel's hand as they walked off of the lift and into the Mode space.

Taken aback, Daniel's eyes widened and quickly embraced the girl after having not seen her in nearly a month after her own private tragedy. "You don't know how glad I am to see you..." He had missed her..Not just because of the errands and paperwork and stupid interns but because...He was worried about her. Amanda, hadn't been Amanda but telling by her greeting, she was getting there.

"I'm hot..." Izak whined from below him, pulling at his hat and scarf.

"Oh No, no, no...little person..." She bent down at his level. "This is Gucci...It's like the crown jewels."

Izak stared at her blankly, only having a short response. "You do know I'm 3, wright?"

"And you sound just like your middle-aged mother..." She mumbled, getting up and taking his hat and scarf into her posession while Daniel stripped him of his coat. He wore a navy Burberry blazer with tan khakis and an Oxford polo shirt, his hair brushed back into the usual sleek style.

"You didn't have to come back so soon Amanda, I told you to take all the time that you needed, paid and all."

"And I did Daniel, don't worry...Plus, I thought that with the recent events...You might be needing my help..."

"True.."

"How did you even get in the building this morning?"

"I don't know...The paparazzi has lost their minds out there...I got here 20 minutes ago but it took me nearly 15 minutes to get through the crowd." He shook his head at the recent rumors surrounding Wilhelmina considering everything that has transpired and the aspects of Wilhelmina's life that were now being forced to be made public. Her privacy was dwindling away, the tide had risen and he, he could no longer see the end of the storm.

"Don't worry about it...Just...go check on Wilhelmina."

"Is she alright?"

"Well she hasn't left her office...And not a lot of people showed up today because of the storm last night but Marc has been checking on her every half-hour like you asked."

"And she hasn't gotten annoyed?"

"Nope...She's in a...quiet...mood."

"I noticed...Hey, do me a favor and direct all of her press calls to my office for me please."

"No problem..Just don't forget that you have a meeting with Alexis about French Mode..Then with Mrs. Meade's attorney's about Friday."

"What's happening Friday?"

"Hello? Daniel...I Claire Meade plead not guilty to killing Fey Sommers by reason of mental illness or defect."

"Fey...Sommers?"

"Not the point..."

"Amanda.."

"Okay..I Claire Meade plead not guilty to killing the sexy filf that tried to sue my daughter-in-law."

"Filf?"

"Foreigner I'd like to f-"

"Okay Izak, let's go see mommy..."

**OoO**

Approaching the door, he was halted by Marcs extended arm, blocking their entrance into her office. He shook his head quickly before retuning his attention to the circle that allowed a peek inside of her office. A peak that revealed the back of her chair as she took a phone call. Suddenly, she flew out of her chair and he stepped back from the door, only to have it, moments later, fling open.

She had her purse in hand, coat on and she was ready to go until she saw Daniel and Izak standing there in confusion. "Wilhelmina where are you going?"

"..." She was silent, her eyes moving to Izak who outstretched towards her. "Sweetie mommy has to go.." She pulled at his face and kissed his cheek.

"Wilhelmina." She didn't respond, hurrying off into the elevator, only to find that after that long distance he had left Izak with Marc and followed her to the point where she could not escape. The doors closed. She was against the back wall and he...he was staring her dead in the eyes.

"5 goddamn years Wilhelmina, 5 fucking years we have been together and worked hard enough for it to amount to 20. After everything that we have been through I will be damned if you shut me now, like I am not your husband and like I have not been there. I asked you a question."

"I am going to the funeral home. Happy? She attempted to move out of his way and she shoved the emergency brake button, stopping their movement. "Now get the hell...Out of my way."

"No." His voice came as a stern disturbance to her expectation. Usually, he would have complied and moved out of her way but this time, he stared her straight in her eyes and like a tree, would not be moved.

"What do you mean, No?"

"I mean, you're not going to not come home then shut me out when I do see you...We're too old for this crap Wilhelmina...We're adults so let's act like it."

"If you want to act like an adult, how about not cornering me on an elevator."

"I wouldn't have to corner you if you didn't shut me out every time you can't handle anything."

"I can handle this."

"Wilhelmina, you can't even say the word body without nearly losing it let alone her name...Now I am not trying to be insensitive here...But I will not let you do this again."

"Do what?"

"Shut me out...You need to talk to me."

"About?"

"Wilhelmina don't make me go there with you."

"Daniel you said that you wanted to support me and the only way that you could support me right now is by getting the hell..." She knocked his arm down aggressively. "...out of my way."

And with that, she was gone.

**OoO**

"Have a seat..." The guard instructed the trio as they entered the private room. Lincoln had taken a seat on one side and Alexis followed suit, allowing Daniel to push in her seat. He was about to sit down before his eyes met his mothers, the sunken appearance...The black rings that hung around them and the dim color he no longer remembered as the blue that was her eye color. Her hair was best tamed beneath a blue bandana that matched her jumper that read the number _**0791113. **_

He shut his eyes.

She had been branded...She had been robbed and they had aided in the attempt. She was sober, yet drunken in desperation. She was bitter yet not angry...She was his mother...yet just a shell.

"Mom..." Alexis made eye contact and Claire's eyes darted off into the distance with her arms crossed, not trying to hear a word.

"Mrs. Meade...My name is Lincoln Averies...I'll be representing you in your case on Friday."

Claire sighed and pulled a piece of paper from her jumper before scribbling on it quickly and pushing it to their side of the table. Alexis caught it and read it aloud. "_There is no case...I said I am pleading guilty and that is it."_

"Mrs. Meade I understand you're reasoning but you don't have to go to jail...You're sober, you've received mental treatment...Everything is set up for the mental instability plea..."

"Mom..." Daniel whispered and she completely shut-down...feeling the betrayal creep in her all over again. "If you want to plead guilty, we're not going to stop you."

"Daniel!"

"Alexis, if it's what she wants to do then it's her choice...We already took away her freedom, I'm not taking away her voice too..." Claire looked up as Daniel was standing and he moved towards her...She was silent, her neck slightly inclined to face him as she looked up. Without hesitation, he slowly lifted her chin and kissed her cheek, her body never reacting. "I love you too..." He moved away and slapped Lincoln's shoulder. "Averies...You're fired...Alexis...Mom's way or the high way..."

And with that, he was gone.

**OoO**

When Daniel Meade stepped into his home, the home that he had built from the ground up for his wife. He expected the gloomy quiet that he had experienced previously for the past couple of nights...He expected an extra bit of darkness since the funeral was the next day...He expected quiet...sadness. What he got...Not only surprised him but it scarred him..

It was quiet.

There was only one light.

It was in the kitchen.

There were two people.

Two women.

Wilhelmina

Renee.

The trembling in her arms, and the white of her knuckles as she clutched the cornerstone of the counter. Her emotions were...indescribable as the entire world swirled into a pound of gray and she saw red.

The stagnant stature of her body and the white of her face as she watched her sister attempt to regain her composure, try to regain her sanity. Her fear was...indescribable as their entire world swirled into a pound of gray and she saw blue.

He didn't expect what would happen next. He didn't anticipate what would happen next...Mainly because...It just did.

"Get out of my house..."

"Wilhelmina I have a right to know..."

The shock stains itself around her face as those white knuckles now become cadaverously reminiscent of a ghost. Her heels send a creaking shriek against the marble as she slowly turns to face her sister, to look her in the eyes...To finally face their demons.

"She had bruises on her bones...Her bones...You would get so hopped up on painkillers that you would beat her into unconsciousness...She was bleeding internally...She didn't have to kill herself, you were already killing her."

"I am her mother."

"No Renee...You...slept with my husband, lost your mind and gave birth to a human being...for 18 years, I took care of her, I provided for her, I paid for everything, I loved her, I...I was her mother and you were nothing more than a pain-popping junkie slipping in and out of reality. I don't give a damn about the four years you spent playing mommy with my daughter because you will never be able to look me or anyone for that matter, in the eyes and say that you were the best mother that you could be to that girl...You can never say that...You didn't give a damn about anyone but yourself...And now she's dead...And yes, I blame you...So just do yourself a goddamn favor and don't bother showing up tomorrow ...Now Get the hell...out of my house before I hurt you."

"She never wanted me!" She had retreated all the way to the front door but she let the last sentence slip out and into Wilhelmina's ear gates.

"I said get out!"

"She never wanted me! All she wanted was you to forgive her, that's all she wanted! I tried, I tried to be her mother, I tried being my friend and nothing worked because you were all of that for her!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't get it, you idiot! You say that I killed her but I know...that she died the minute you disowned her...Because like you said, you were her mother...You might as well have put the gun to her head yourself."

Wilhelmina froze, her insides coming to a halt with the realization that Renee...might...just...be right...And it hurt...it...pained her core to even fathom the possibility that her daughter took her life because she had no one to turn to...But to think that it was the fact that the only person she had to turn to disowned her into a bitter reality, it was too much...to bare...Just too much.

**OoO**

That night was a quiet one with only the wind's hollow howl to waft against his ears, opting to leave the window open with hope that she would come to bed.

She never did.

Eventually, sleep became him and he had succumbed to his much needed slumber. It was 9 am and raining. Peering out of the window he thought, _Heaven's crying. _That's what Bradford's mother would tell him before she died...Anytime it rained on the day of someone's funeral, heaven was crying over the loss. Only this time, the Earth was crying as well

Just as he expected, Izak had slept down there with her...Well as she stared out to the open. He doubted heavily that she slept at all or did much of anything besides looking forward and staring at the wall. HE had court with Claire that morning at...at 8am...And it was 9am...Damn he was late! Looking back to Willie, he checked his watch and crept into the living room to see if she was awake or sleeping with her eyes open.

"If you leave now, you can make it to the final hearing."

Not surprised, he nodded and ran up the stairs, dressing in an all-black suit with a matching business suit and tie so that he did not have to change for the funeral. And Willie was right, he did make it in time for the final hearing. The final words that shocked him completely.

**OoO**

"Are you the director?" Coming back from court and walking into the 2nd floor holding room of a 3 floor funeral home, he was met with the stark black hair that cascaded down the back that faced him.

"Daniel?" The voice called out to him, never revealing their face nor their identity.

"Do I know you?" He questioned from the doorway of the short hulled room, the other side parallel with a pall that had sides lined with small bean-sized pearls that rather seemed to glow when stared at. Their room was dimly lit, the only source of light being the modest silver chandelier in the center of the room that was conservative with candles, and other candles seating on either side of the room. White flowers on each pew. He noted that Wilhelmina had opted for a small room. She hadn't drawn much attention to the loss and he begged that no one would leak it to the media. They would be in a frenzy if they found out about the passing, which he was surprised that they hadn't. Digressing, he still wanted to know who this woman was.

"You should know me. After all, we did spend a week sleeping together at my sister's apartment." She stood up and straightened her knee length dress that hugged her body, black and grim. She then turned around and stalked towards him, brow arched.

"Renee?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I just came early to make sure that...Everything is in place for them. The wake."

"Isn't that the funeral home's job?"

"Yes but it is my job to fix their job to ensure that they keep their lives."

"Hmmm...My sister..." She mumbled, leaning against a pew. "But hey...you married her." Daniel nodded awkwardly, beginning to move away as he felt her eyes bore into him.

"Yup..."

"Should've been me..."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, I know she probably has you thinking that I made this happen...But things would have been different if it was me you married...I think...at least..." She turned around to face him after he had inched around the small sanctuary to move away from whatever she was spewing. "What do you think?"

"I think...that I'm married to your sister who should be here shortly."

"Don't you things would be different if we...worked out?"

"Well we'll never know..." He added numbly as she approached him, looking for some type of sympathetic emotion.

"We could..." she smiled and leaned towards him, forcing him to step back, partly out of fear and also out of shock. She nearly tripped over a floral arrangement in which she quickly caught herself angrily.

"Look, I know that you're grieving but...I'm married...To your sister for that matter. I mean, you know her...IF she can gun down a mortician, I can't fathom what she would do to you..."

With the mention of that life ending object. A gun. The word sent a rivet down her spine. Within an instant, her eyes were filled and this time, not for sympathetic gatherings...But because it all hit her again. She lost a child. Her child. And she knew that she was partly to blame...And she was well aware that everyone felt the same.

"I just...I miss her so much..."

"Renee..."

"I'm...I'm going to go..."

**OoO**

Christian Louboutin Asteroid Suede and Patent Leather Spike Pumps.

Rachel Roy Draped Bateau neckline, Draped Front Dress.

Ralph Lauren Blue Label - Merino Wool Ruffle Poncho.

Alexis Bittar Swarovski Crystal Accented Lucite Calla Lily Pin.

All black with a silver Lilly pin. Lilies; those were her favorites. She was in such a numbed state that morning, anything black that she saw first was what she put on, only doing her hair in a simple French bun and casted side bang that was lifted a twinge by thickly framed Chanel Sunglasses. Her eyes were red, but not from crying...From not closing them. Because anytime she did, she saw her face.

She stood at the elevator door, coming early to make sure that everything was in order for when the small bit of guests arrived. Beside her stood her father who had inadvertently arrived at the same time. Seems like they both had the same intention, but they would never let the other know it.

"Are you alright?" The Senator questioned in the cold tone that she used to know. He had numbed himself as well.

"Fine." She responded just as the doors opened and she stepped on, standing all the way to the side as he entered and pressed the button to ascend yet a glove covered hand stopped the doors from closing.

Wilhelmina peered over her glasses as Renee stepped aboard, having forgotten her purse at the front pew and returning to get it. Yet her presence alone sparked Wilhelmina's ire enough for her to tip her glasses to glance at her estranged sibling.

"Glad you could make it." The Senator greeted, kissing her cheek, her face also stunned to see the two of them.

"I'm just here to get my purse...I paid my respects earlier." She stood on the Senator's side of the elevator and Wilhelmina just reached over her and pressed the button of ascension.

"Why aren't you staying?"

"I wasn't invited."

"What?"

"I was told that I was not welcome so I am just going to collect my things and leave." Renee glanced at Wilhelmina through her glasses yet she still could not see her eyes.

"Oh please..." Wilhelmina mumbled.

"What, are you going to deny what you said last night?"

"Why waste my breath on you? You're non-existent." Wilhelmina turned around and took out her blackberry and the Senator snatched it from her, pressing the Emergency break button that ceased their movement. She rolled her eyes, thinking if that is the only way that men think that they can get her attention.

"Give me my phone."

"Talk to your sister!"

"She is not my sister, she's a woman that just so happens to share the same bloodline as me."

"Wilhelmina."

"And is a tad uglier..."

"Please don't talk about ugly...When you know that your nose used to be sooooo wide-"

"Key word...used to..You still have it."

"Such a bitch."

"Thank you."

"I swear to God, one day I am going to punch you in the face."

"Space and opportunity..."

"Excuse me?"

"I said space and opportunity...You want to punch me in the face, go right ahead." Wilhelmina snatched off her sunglasses, revealing a light darkness around her eyes that even her best concealer couldn't for, The strained red eyes of a crier when tears were yet to hit them. And the glare of someone who was stolen from. "Do it..."

Renee stood toe to toe with her older sister, biting the inside of her cheek as she felt her hand ball up against the side and burn with a yearn to rise to the challenge and do just what she was asking for. But they couldn't...not there...not now...not on that kind of day.

"If you two are going to act like children then I am going to treat you like children...Wanda, go over there, Rhonda go over there." Calling them by their childhood names, the two woman stood fiercely against each other, unmoving to their appointed corners until they felt the ground shake beneath them when their father stomped his foot, a tactic that used to make them jump into position immediately. Only this time did they slowly depart, eyeing each other closely.

"We have had a great loss...And you two are sisters...Now is the perfect time to mend your relationship with each other."

"She blames me..." Renee blurted out.

"Blames you for?" The Senator asked, soon answering his question by the silence between them. "Wanda is this true?" he turned in her direction and she stared ahead, her only intent the fiery eyes of her so-called sister. "Wanda?"

"She has bruising beneath her skin caused by blunt force trauma with either an object or heavy impact by a fist or kick...She had a fractured rib that splintered off and punctured her stomach...She was bleeding internally...She was dying already...She was being beaten-"

"That is not true!"

"You know it's true!" Wilhelmina raised her voice for the first time in their encounter, losing herself for just a moment. "I heard her tell you to get off of the pills...to go to rehab...to fix yourself and all you did was hit her...She wanted a mother and all you gave her was an abuser, you killed her!"

"She died of a broken heart because you rejected her, because you casted her out like garbage on a sidewalk."

"That is not true!"

"You killed her!"

"Nico killed Nico!" It had been a long time since either woman had heard their father raise their voice. Usually a low rumble or condescending a whisper. But in that elevator..On the day that heaven cried, they heard his voice...They heard anger...They heard...they heard his voice crack.. Wilhelmina looked up to see the twinge of wetness in his eyes, the sadness in his face. He was grieving his granddaughter. "Okay maybe it was a mistake 20 years ago to make you raise her love child with your husband and yes, maybe it was a mistake to let you just ignore the fact that you had a daughter for 16 years but here...now...We cannot afford to blame each other...Nico killed Nico...She took her own life...As..Unfortunate as it is...It's the reality and blaming each other will eat you both up sooner or later, it's just a matter of time."

"It should've been you..." It was such a bitter whisper that they had to strain to hear it. But...the words were making her question the composure that she worked so hard to maintain.

"Wanda you don't mean that..." The Senator mumbled and she shook her head, pressing the emergency stop button which opened the door to the first floor that they never moved from.

"With all...of my heart..." She took one last glance at Renee, shade less and raw. Her voice trembled within the depths of her throat, rumbling against the threatened ears that had, for days, been put on hold. "I wish it were you."

And with that, she was gone.

**OoO**

He knew just where to find her. After 3 hours of crying and seeing their closest friends that he could literally count on one hand, he knew just where to find her. They all asked about her, where she was and if she was okay. The media had found out and was pouring in from every borough. They suspected traffic but he just told them that she wasn't feeling well when in reality he knew just where to find her. Seeing Renee's face and the Senator's expression, he knew that something had happened but he did not know what. But again, he knew just where to find her. As everyone was piling into their cars to go to the burial site, and he got into the limo, she was right where he expected her to be.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not in the least."

**OoO**

She knew that she had missed the funeral and truly never took a moment to say goodbye. But she never knew that pulling up to a cemetery would be so...gut-wrenching. Everyone exited their car at the same time, yet it was only a few people despite the overwhelming crowd of cameras peaking past the fence and held off by security.

Alexis.

Marc.

Daniel

Amanda.

Betty.

Tyler.

Charles.

Ariel.

Mona.

Lisa...Even Lisa showed.

She didn't have many friends and many people were in the dark about her departure...But the group, the small group turned to look at the limo, the black tinted window to see if Wilhelmina came since she missed the wake.

Inside, her chest had begun to feel weighted. She didn't want to move. This was the piece de resistance of the day, of the tragedy. This is where reality set in. Where everything came to an enjambment, an end-stop.

Daniel exited first and looked inside the car, extending his hand and she reluctantly took hold, stepping foot first out in a slow dramatic form until she just rose and embraced him immediately. He wasn't shocked or taken-aback as she latched on to him and he held dear to her. She could have the worst attitude with him, be the biggest bitch with him and to everyone else it would look like he was her lap dog but it was truly to simple fact that he understood her...And could tolerate her because he knew that it was not directed at him.

She was at the brink, the breaking point. There were cameras everywhere and all eyes...were on her...she didn't want to break down. She didn't want to cry..She didn't want to fall to her knees in a sobbing hysteria...Even though she truly wanted to.

"I've got you, just hold my hand..." She pulled away and gripped his hand fiercely, not caring if she was evacuating any and all circulation. He took it well, lifting her hand that was gripping his and kissing it softly as he walked her towards what would be the toughest moment of her life. "I've got you..." He would whisper.

And with that...Nico was gone...and buried.

**OoO**

Sometimes to face reality, we bring up other aspects. We turn the plate and pick at the other side to ignore what's around the bend. Sometimes it's easier to ignore the elephant in the room and focus on the rat running across the carpet. When you're stressed, when you're...tired...tired of life, tired of people. So many things seem so much easier..Because you settle...You settle to talk about a small problem so you don't have to confess your crisis. You blurt out an unknown feeling to avoid expressing the feeling that everyone and their mother knows that you have. We do all of this just to ignore reality.

"I'm not happy." The day had come and went in what seemed like a whirlwind of emotions. Such a whirlwind that she had been blind to everyone's concern for her. She ignored everyone, not even saying hello to Marc. The only person she spoke to was Ariel, who was just as numb as she was. She blurts these words out and he looks up at her in shock, mainly confusion because he does not know what she is referring to specifically. What she is talking about...Why she has said this.

"Wills what are you talking about?" Standing up beside their massive bed, he stretches back the comforter as she sits up, tired yet unwilling to rest in her silk meringue caftan with black lace embroidered on the dipping neck and widened sleeve cuffs.

"Daniel you wanted the powerful job...A pretty wife to have your babies and surprisingly enough you got that, did you not?"

"Well yes but-"

"Well...I'm not happy..." She shrugged, staring straight at him in denial. She knew that as soon as he got in bed, he would want to talk about what happened that day and he didn't want to. So she dug in her treasure chest of emotions that she had been saving for a rainy day and set it on the table.

"I thought you wanted Mode...Mode to make you happy."

"I'm still not happy."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you drop a bombshell on me like that and then not even know why you feel that way?"

"I don't know! I just know that I am not happy...I'm not content...Yes I love you and Izak but this is not how I envisioned my life...I never wanted kids...I never wanted marriage. "Her head dropped to her fingers as they fiddled with her wedding band. "..I...I wanted power."

"P-Pow-Power?" His voice croaked with a slight fear of the old her creeping back into her system. "What, do you want more shares in the company or something like that?"

"No...I want power...Unconditional power...Power that I gleaned for myself...Start from scratch and have something for myself."

"What about Mode?"

"Mode is not mine...Mode is Claire's and obviously she can run Mode without me...And...IT's just not special anymore...I mean, just understand me here. It was so...fulfilling...knowing that I was the only person that could do my job and do it well...with a matter of excellency...But...I don't have that anymore...That's the reason I went after the job but now...I...I've lost my appetite for it all...Because...it's...it's just not the same and I'm not happy with that."

She knew that she was intentionally picking a battle. She knew that she was intentionally dropping a topic so that she would not have to talk about how she felt, her emotions. She was deflecting, she was trying to take the glare off of the elephant and put it on the rat, being her happiness. And while all of this was simple trickery...She wasn't lying. She truly wasn't happy. Claire had come in with the ability to do her job and do it well and the sparkle disappeared from the job because it was her that could do it a certain way, that could bring Mode in and reel it in from the edge...But now Claire had did it and...it just wasn't the same...the satisfaction wasn't the same...

And all he could think of is power...and his confusion...And Mode...and Vogue...And she saw that...And it kind of angered. She shook her head and opened the door for her to exit. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

And with that, she was gone.

**OoO**

**Read & Review :D**


	29. Release

She had chosen to retreat to her home office and throw herself into Mode. No surprise there, following the usual pattern of using Mode to deflect from her real problems. Using penurious things to hide the big deterrence. Little did she know, this time when she brought up a problem that would give her time to run, to escape, to ignore...It would do her good...This time.

He on the other hand took to the attic which was weird walking into. He really hadn't been up there since it caved in and nearly killed Willie, and she definitely hadn't been up there since. It was the neatest the attic he had ever seen though. She hated clutter and the idea of an attic but when they compromised they had an agreement to maintain its clean stature. Yet, he really didn't see the point because his idea of a _clean _attic was a place where all the old stuff goes to collect dust.

But when he did get down or in this case, confused and down...he visited the old dusty stuff of theirs. She would probably castrate him if she knew that he went through her stuff when she wasn't looking but she'd never find out. _So he thought._

So he sat down on the floor in his old man pajamas with a clean white box before him, the ensemble intriguing him. All he could see was her eyebrow peeking out on a poster and he couldn't help himself. With a smirk, he pulled at it and out popped this large Styrofoam mockup cover. She was on the cover, wearing a coveted hairstyle from nearly 7 years previous. Her arms were folded and her face drew stoic with each second glance. A snake embossed coat and purple pencil skirt, she...She was the cover of a magazine...Slater magazine. Everything was precise right down to the font...IT all was perfect...HE could tell that she had a hand in everything because nothing looked out of place, nothing looked like she hadn't tweaked it to make it her own or control some aspect of it.

He remembered it from somewhere. Flashing back those 7 years to remember her stomping into a conference meeting after the funeral of his father and showing them him and Alexis her new magazine. _Slater. _Despite the evil smirk, he still saw the spark in her eyes, how she lit up whenever she said something about it. The magazine business was her passion...But owning one of her own...The power...That was her dream.

He dug further into the box and found a thick binder full of photos and articles and notes and tabs and scribbles everywhere...IT was the mockup for her first book. Each sticky-note had a date...2012...2010...2004...1997...1991...She had been doing _Slater_ in her head since day one...She had the articles, shot the photography, the models, the fashion, the concepts, the launch was there...She just hadn't done anything with it yet...

The box was full of mockups...of magazines for Slater...HE could tell that as she moved up the ladder in her career she was able to book private shoots...newer models…Better fashions...There were at least 30...Just mockups...mockups for her dream that had been sitting dormant in an attic.

It wasn't just the power...IT was the ownership. The ability to say that something was hers...Truly hers. The ability to take possession without fearing that someone would snatch it back. She would never get that at Mode. She would never feel secure at Mode. With his mother dangling the contractual deed over her head and threatening to fire her anytime they had a fight. Wrestling against Fey Sommers' memory and standard...She never had the locked in security that resulted in true power...Power that you can feel...Absolute power...just does something to you...She looked like she had it...But, she didn't.

And that alone kept her from enjoying the things that she did?

**OoO**

Watching _The September Issue _for the umpteenth time and laughing anytime Ana Wintour's eye twitched had become her mantra at 2 am. She was bored, sad, and had pregnancy insomnia. She was like a night owl, sleeping for ten minutes and then laughing at Ana Wintour's reflexes the next.

Until the doorbell rang.

She grabbed her bat immediately, inching slowly towards the door. Normally she wouldn't have gone but since they had a small peep hole, she looked through and saw a familiar face...Who she didn't expect to see.

"Ariel?" The door was open and the girl stood before her mother at the front door, wearing pajama pants and a sweat shirt.

"Can I come in?" Wilhelmina stepped aside, crossing her arms over her yellow kaftan as Ariel passed her and stood in the foyer, clutching her car key against her bare flesh after holding so hard to break skin.

"Are you alright?" She asked, concerned for the young girl's appearance in the midst of the night.

"I never apologized."

"What? What are you talking about Ariel?"

"Mom I never apologized! I didn't speak to her for 4 years and the last thing I said was that she wasn't your child, I was...I called her an evil botch and told her to get the hell out...And I never apologized..." Her head fell between her shoulders as she cried...as she mourned...as she grieved her sister for the first time. "All that we went through together and I never apologized and now she's dead and I-"

Her mother embraced her in a fierce hug, holding her head to her shoulder she sobbed into the silky material, clutching her keys in her half bun. She and Nico were sisters...They were sisters...They got through boarding school together and even when Ariel got out of school, she stayed in Paris to keep her little sister company...They were like Frick And Frack..And with one fight they become oil and water.

"I never...I never..." The words sputtered form her mouth as Willie shushed her, just allowing her to let go. Just like her mother, she had sustained her emotions for as long as she could, kept them at bay until she could no longer hold on. She was drowning in guilt. Drowning in it and she couldn't breathe...Until she let go.

**OoO**

After staying up for hours on end, soothing her daughter through the loss of her other daughter. She awoke to Ariel's melon sized head beneath her chin, sleeping on her chest with an arm cast around her as if she had held on, clung to her to fall asleep. IT brought back memories...She remembered that all of her kids were clingy at Izak's age, always wanting to be around her, never leaving...Especially when they were lost.

That's probably why; sitting in her office that morning...Ariel was sitting on the chaise like it was her desk. Wherever her mother had gone, she went along as if magnetized and Izak took notice but that's another story.

She wore a fine vintage Pierre Cardin black dress. The black crepe fabric dipped into a low v all the way to the quilt stitched waist band in a parallel to the free dolman sleeves that held the outfit together with Jimmy Choo studded black heels, suede. Simple jewelry, Diamond Hoop Earrings in 14K White Gold completely covered in with diamonds inside out, giving an elegant twist to the classic twist and a religious shout-out with a Black & White Diamond Cross Pendant formed with precise intricacy.

With her hair falling flowingly to her shoulders and creeping down her back, her eyes flickered up from the white of her lap top when she saw Daniel walking through the door, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Ariel can you run down to photos and get the run-throughs for the February cover from Chavo?"

"Chavo? The Russian guy that thinks he is Columbian?"

Wilhelmina nodded and Ariel exited, knowing her cue when she looked up and saw Daniel waiting at the door. Willie closed her laptop and stared ahead, waiting for what he could possibly have to say.

"You're fired." He spoke harshly in a firm voice.

"Excuse me?" She asked, a little stunned and worried that she was losing her hearing with assurance that she heard him wrong.

"You're fired."

"Daniel you can't be serious."

"I am."

"Is this about what happened yesterday?"

"Yes."

She stood up to his height, walking around her desk. As she came closer his steps moved backwards with the fear that she might strike him. "You mean to tell me that I can't talk to you without -Oh my God...I can't belie-You stupid mother fu-"

"Okay...wait a minute..." He chuckled, holding his hands up as he was cornered against a wall. "First...Put the eyebrow down." He referenced her fiercely arched eyebrow that nearly rose off of her face with anger. "Two...calm down..."

"Calm down? Calm down! Are you fucking insane!? You just fired me!"

"Wilhelmina!"

"You do not know how close you are to having vintage Jimmy Choo stuck...up...your...ass."

"Okay...you know what..." He ran from the corner that she had him in and backed up, fearing her wrath. "Sit..."

"What am I, a dog?! No, if anyone in this room is a bitch it's your pale Geico caveman ass!"

"Wilhelmina just sit down and I will explain everything...Just sit down."

She folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot, unwilling to cooperate.

"Damn, you are so difficult! I am going to help you."

"Help me with what?!"

"Slater."

"W...What?" She whispered, not thinking that he knew anything about the secret ambition of hers.

"The magazine that you wanted to start..." He approached her cautiously, her mind so fixated on the magazine that she didn't even notice that he had made her sit down on the chaise. "I...I have this..." He pulled a piece of paper from his breast pocket. "I was up all night and this morning calling in favors and friends and I have this possible list of advertisers in order of most legitimate to most rocky because some people are on the fe-" His words were silenced when she met his lips, ceasing any discussion that he may have had in mind. He on the other hand, immediately got lost in it all and found his hands at her waist but pulled back at her smirk. "Wait you haven't even heard the best part...I found your books...And I have Marc putting and pulling all of the best ideas for your first issue and I've already decided to fund you for the first few months while you get on your feet and then there are a list of Mode employees willing to transfer to-" She stopped him again with a kiss and he chuckled, his fingers running up her waist. "Are you excited?"

"I really don't know what to say...I just...This is what you decided to take what I told you yesterday and do?"

"Nothing is more important to me than your happiness..."

She blushed a bit, pecking his lips again before stroking at the gruff she previously made fun of. "How did I get stuck with-?"

"My pale Geico caveman ass?"

She chuckled, pecking him one last time. "I love you..."

"I love you too...and you..." He looked towards her stomach and her eyes widened, taking his hand in hers.

"Oh! Let me show you something..." She placed his hand on her hip and moved upwards, closer to the side of her abdomen... "I had forgotten to tell you..."

"Tell me wh-" He fell silent with amazement, like a child in a candy store just intrigued with his current entanglement.

"D-"

"Shhhhh..." He hushed her and she chuckled softly, finding it comedic how his interest suddenly shifts. Like a tidal wave moving back and forth, it was like a fluttering...a fluttering that was, to him, the highlight of his year.

"Did you just try to shu-?"

"Shhhh.."

"Da-"

"Shhh."

"D-"

"Shhh."

"Daniel, don't make me ruin this moment..." She joked, feeling the impulse to hit him as he became so immersed in such an experienced. "

"I'm sorry...I just...Was that her?"

"Or him..."

"Or she..."

"Are we really going to go through this again?"

"No, because it's a girl..."

"Wait..."

"What? Is there something wrong?"

"What about Mode?...I mean if I'm gone then...Who is going to run Mode.."

"Oh! That's your second surprise..." He got up from the chaise and stepped out quickly, footsteps following closely behind him when he returned. "Willie..." He stepped aside and revealed a radiance flowing through the smile of one singing person. She had taken the smug off and replaced it with the happiness she used to possess and...It nearly brought her to tears.

"Come here you old goat." Wilhelmina stood up and embraced herm despite the last time they spoke leading to her turning herself in and a fight...That didn't matter right then. She stepped back and looked at her mother-in-law...seeing a glow about her. "Claire Meade...You look good."

"I feel good." Claire smiled, grinning ear to ear as Daniel closed the door from the gaping employees so surprised to see the Meade matriarch back, not knowing what transpired in court the other day.

"I thought you wanted to go to prison."

"Well..." Claire glanced at the couple, shrugging a bit. "Considering that you can spawn children now...And I don't completely hate you...I figured that I do have some things worth living for..."

"Wils...I offered mom the position when you're ready to leave...She uh..She wants to see your dreams come true too."

"Oh Daniel could you be any cornier?" Claire questioned and Wilhelmina snickered past the tears that welled in her eyes.

"Oh my God...The devil has tear ducts."

Willie shakes her head, turning back to grab a Kleenex quickly with the knowledge that if she began the sob train there, she would never stop considering the tears she had been suppressing. "I've just been a hormonal...mess lately...But if you tell anyone I will castrate you with my bare hands."

Daniel scrunches his face in confusion. "How?"

Claire raises her brow and Wilhelmina embraced her once again, but this time it was personal...It was...so...sincere...Probably one of the most sincere hugs she had ever received, which is probably why she froze upon the touch. Who knew someone so icy gave hugs that could melt the North Pole. "Thank you..." When she heard that mumble, she at first didn't know how to respond until she realized just what she was being thanked for...killing...the man that tortured her...that tried to ruin her life...She was thanking her for ending a...never-ending nightmare.

Just as Daniel slipped out of the room, Wilhelmina pulled with the realization that she was beginning to tear up again. She reached for the tissues but Claire grabbed her hand, holding them both together. "I am...so very sorry...For your loss..." She shook her head at the prospect of losing a child and what she went through with Izak. "No mother...No mother should ever have to feel what you're feeling right now...It's not meant to be that way."

The dam broke.

The bridge snapped.

The floodgates opened.

The walls came down.

It all began with one single tear as she tried to remain as composed as she could, nearly trembling until her head fell to the shoulder of the most unexpected person, her usual sworn mortal enemy...She had fallen to her shoulder in sobs, breathtaking sobs, gasping sobs, air grabbing sobs where your lungs expand yet it doesn't even feel like your breathing because you're feeling the pain of everything all at once. "I told you this four years ago, it's okay to cry...you're supposed to...If you don't you'll lose your mind.."

"I wasn't there..."

"You can't always be there..."

"I didn't protect her..."

"You couldn't protect her...from herself...You can't blame yourself..." She comforted her enemy, her sworn enemy. "You just can't..."

**OoO**

"You missed a spot..." Claire aided, sitting beside her on the chaise after what seemed like an hour...She had let her cry...She cry her heart out...Pour out the contents of her soul in lieu of hysteria...She bonded...over grief...over loss. "Here..." Claire took the tissue from her and dabbed the slight black mark right beneath her eye from such heavy crying that even waterproof mascara couldn't fend against.

"Your hand is trembling..." Wilhelmina observed. Sitting patiently and humbly before the older woman. She surrendered in a sense...To her wisdom...to her knowledge...She was a formidable strong woman who could hold her own and needed...guidance...Just like her daughter who was nearly half of her age...Because guidance is subjective to anyone who needs it...because there will come a time when all...will need it.

Claire smirked. "That's because the sight of you in tears has permanently scarred me for life..."

"You know I wasn't kidding about the castration..."

"I know...That's why I didn't take a picture of you."

Wilhelmina smiled lightly, having a thought or a revelation more so. For years she had dealt with the death of her mother and for years...She had pushed away the one that had been sent to her.

**OoO**


	30. After All Is Said And Done

A/N: OMG, the reviews are greatly appreicated :D Thanks a bunches and enjoy this chapter. Read & Review!

"Marc I have known you for almost ten years...And I cherish our relationship but if you don't calm down I swear to God you will lose your life on your wedding day..." Her pointed claw in his face reduced his shrieking to that of a weak murmur before she snatched away her finger and he gulped in his white track suit that read '_Gryde_' on the back.

All of the stress of all of the plans had begun to get to him and he was beginning to lose it especially considering that it was 8am in the morning and Willie had handled nearly everything up until that day. The big day had come. Behind the scenes she was directing, ordering and fixing whatever needed to be fixed. And now that she needed to leave for a couple of hours, the gryde...was heavily frightened.

"Willie do you have to go? Can't you reschedule I mean I have everything an-Ah..." He was silenced once again by the piercing of her nail into the lobe of his ear.

"Marc...2 hours...It is 8am and your wedding is at 4...I..will...be...back." She nudged him off and he nodded as Daniel came up behind her as they stood in the middle of the large venue that would soon be filled with people and cameras waiting to capture the moments.

"You need to put this on..." She turned around briefly to see that he was talking about an orange blazer seeing how the peasant shirt that she was wearing, while comfortable, made her look heavily pregnant despite only being in the second trimester.

"How bad is it out there?" She questioned as she turned around and he was quick to button the single button on the blazer above her wide leg jeans, dark wash and creased in quadrants of tan seams above a snake embossed auburn pump.

"They all want to know about...the funeral...they...they want to know about your weight, Mode, mom...They're still talking about the Oprah interview and let's just say...I got here a half an hour ago and I was just able to get into the building."

"This is so depressing!" Amanda screeched, running into the hall with a box of tissues and fresh tears lamented onto her _'BFFL of the Gryde' _tracksuit.

"Mandy what happened?"

"Mandy we're goanna get married eventually..." Tyler eventually followed behind her as Daniel and Wilhelmina made a silent exit.

"More like eventu-NEVER!" She shrugged him off and grabbed the box of chocolate party favors, storming out of the room "Jerk!" ...with the chocolate party favors...

**OoO**

"Stay close to me..." With her hand tightly held in his, he briefed her before walking passed the revolving doors of the foyer out of Gotham Hall. Immediately, a herd of cameras came to surround them, haggling with microphones pointed in every direction, so much so he could barely see and she just followed his direction through the touch crowd before he began to get rowdy with protesters claiming that they got off easy. What happened with Claire in court? What happened with Daniel and Wilhelmina in court...They never seemed to go to jail? Everything had spilled over and they were now dealing with two types of people. Leeches and haters...Today they had both come out yet the haters seemed to be closing in on them. It seemed like the longest walk of the century and when a tug sensed at his hand, he turned back to realize that she had broken her heel. She froze, feeling them close in on her like they always had, usually she would just push Marc in front of her before she got too claustrophobic but soon all she could hear was "Move!"

Two feet from their Town car, he scooped her up in the midst of the chaos and pushed his way through the car as her bare feet dangled in the air, hands holding her pumps with a slight smirk on her face at the shock of the press.

Once inside, he sighed, washing a hand over his face. "Damn you scared me..."

She bent down as best she could in the seat and felt for her ankle. "I scared myself."

"What, did you break a heel?"

"I thought I did...But it was like...my foot fumbled..." She chuckled a little bit at her misfortunate stumble.

"You tripped?"

"I don't know!" she answered, pushing her pumps to the side before pulling her ankle up to her thigh to see if there was any redness. "IT doesn't hurt that much..."

"Let me see..." He stretched out her leg onto his lap and laughed...

"What's so funny...?"

"You have wide feet..." He smiled at the imperfection and she snatched back her foot.

"They're not wide! They're...special...Besides your head is an egg...dense and ecliptically challenged..."

**OoO**

"Why are we seeing a different doctor?" Daniel questioned, folding his arms.

"Someone missing Dr. Spears?"

"I'm just asking..."

"Do you actually think I was going to go back there after what happened?"

"...Wilhelmina..."

"Do not start with me Daniel...All you need to do is smile, nod and pray that this man is not an asshole that makes me readjust his face." He sighed, leaning against the wall, trying to adhere her rules but as soon as he saw the young scruff doctor walk in, shorter than Wilhelmina and his eyes dropping to his feet.

"...Hahaha...You're going to hurt yourself in those..." The small man commented and Wilhelmina's eyes squinted dangerously, her fists balling.

"And you are...?"

"Paid to be here..." He answered numbly, turning on the monitor..."I was told that you've been experiencing headaches lately...You know there is a trial that you can join...It uses ADHD medication to-"

"You're an idiot."

"Excuse me?"

"Did you even read my chart? I can't take ADHD medication let alone any other type of medication that is not specific to me...Let me ask you, are you dense?"

"Why don't you just lie down and let me do my job..."

"Oh, you are so not touching me..." Wilhelmina jumped down from the table and the short doctor stood up, pointing to Daniel.

"Aren't you going to get her...?" Wilhelmina looked back and arched a brow and Daniel just followed her lead as she stepped out, stopping at the elevator.

"That was a disaster..." He commented over their short exchange.

She groaned, rubbing the side of her head as it throbbed ridiculously, thumping within the girds of her head. She closed her eyes shut and Daniel sighed, shaking his head. "Willie, you missed 2 appointments with Smith...you need a checkup, maybe we can...call him-"

"No...I don't need him..."

"You may not need him but you need help..." He grabbed his iPhone and texted swiftly before stuffing it into his pocket and taking her by her hand down the hall. "Come on..."

**OoO**

"I hate you..." She groaned, seeing Dr. Spears smiling face walk into the room as she sat on another table.

"Awww...someone cranky?"

"Brittany I appreciate you seeing us on short notice." He shook her hand and Wilhelmina shot him and her look.

"No problem Daniel..." She looked up to Wilhelmina. "Now...Wilhelmina..."

"Mrs. Meade." Wilhelmina corrected, feeling her get to comfortable, familiar with the two of them.

"Okay...Mrs. Meade...I took a look at your chart and it shows that the last time you were you had an amniocentesis done as well as an ultrasound analysis..."

"Hmm?" Daniel questioned and Wilhelmina brushed him off.

"The day you missed..." She whispered and he nodded.

"Well the results are back from the amniocentesis and...Well first let's take a look at the ultrasound..."

"Is there something wrong...?"

"Well...I just...I just want to check a couple things first...I'll fill you in completely, I just need to take a look."

Soon, the peasant shirt had been lifted reluctantly as Dr. Spears turned in her monitor and dimmed the lights a bit. Before applying any gel, she pressed her hands to the side of her abdomen. "Now...do you feel any pressure...like that was unusual...?" She shook her head and Doctor Smith nodded, keeping her hand in one spot before applying the gel predominantly on one side of her stomach before taking out her disk and placed it on the spot where she had previously held her hand. She pulled the monitor closer as Daniel bent down beside her so he was eyelevel as she lay on the table. "Okay...I want to...I want to show you something..." She traced her finger on the parallel to Willie's womb that was on display...She pointed to the head, a small circular aspect. "One of her ventricles is measuring 11 mm and another is 14 mm."

She froze. Her body tensed. She closed her eyes for a moment and turned her head away as Daniel stood, scratching his head a bit. "What...What exactly are you saying?"

"Ummm...Why don't...Why don't we discuss this in my office?"

**OoO**

"Well...we want to run...another amniocentesis just to confirm the diagnosis but we suspect early signs of Hydrocephalus...basically a buildup of fluid inside the skull that leads to brain swelling...We're not completely sure though because from what we can see, it is only her ventricles that are showing signs of abnormality..."

Without warning, Wilhelmina's sprung up from the chair, not being to just sit there and look and the pity eyes she was receiving. Sensing such, Dr. Spears looked up as Daniel asked if they could have a minute and Dr. Spears left promptly before he made his way around to her quickly. "You need to breathe..." He touched her chin and she inhaled, releasing a shaky breath that came with a bounty of tears that she was swiping away at within an instant, pressing it beneath her eye lash. "We prepared for this...We went through genetic counseling...we know the risks...We're going to let her r un her little test but we know our odds, Willie we can't afford to give up now...be strong..." Even his own voice was quivering at the prospect before he embraced her, her sobs falling to his shoulder. "Be strong for her...for our little girl..."

**OoO**

"Okay where the hell is Wilhelmina!?" Marc screeched upon seeing Daniel enter the main room alone. "The wedding is in 5 hours! FIVE hours!"

"Look Marc...She...She's at home right now, she's not feeling too well..." Daniel retorted softly, rubbing at his neck.

"Is she okay?"

"I honestly don't know, I just came by to drop this off..." He handed him the rings. "And then I'm going straight back home to be with her."

"What's going on, is everything alright?...Is it the..." His voice trailed off as Amanda pranced in with half of the party favors gone, sitting between them and in their conversation.

"Marc I'll call you." Daniel assured running back out the door.

**OoO**

"Willie wake up..." He tapped her shoulder from behind as he face was laid down in the keyboard, probably having fallen asleep. "Willie...Wilhelmina!" She jumped up; the pitch black screen coming to a gradient of white as her hand accidentally moved the mouse as she came to.

She dragged her hand down her face through her crazy curls as Daniel leaned over her shoulder, scrolling down the page that she was on before sucking his teeth. "Wils don't torture yourself..." He whispered, exiting the page before her elbows leaned against her desk, her hand falling in her hands.

"I am soooo done.." She mumbled, a sense of defeat hiding behind her statement.

He bent down beside her, squatting on the tips of his feet as he spoke to her. "Come on Willie we can't give up now...you can't give up now..."

"Daniel 63 percent don't even make it to their first year..." she retorted, spewing the facts that now sat heinously in her mind.

"That just means that 37% do...And she is part of that percentage, hmm?"

She stood p and left the room, walking across the expansive floor to reach the staircase in which he followed her to hear a few mumbled whispered. "I'm not going..."

"Not going? To the-You're not going to the wedding, come one Willie you can't miss-"

"I can't do this anymore Daniel!" She yelled, turning around to reveal a tear-stained face..." Day after day, thing after thing! If it's not one problem, it's another and every day I have to go out there and smile in somebody's face like a damn troll and I am sick and tired...I am so...tired...I'm tired of it...I'm done..."

With that sentiment, he let her go upstairs but not before calling his go to.

**OoO**

"C'mon, get up..." He shook her leg that was beneath the covers and she took the pillow, resting it on her face before turning away to ignore him.

Daniel turned to Ariel and she grabbed her iPod and took out the headphones before putting it to the docker in their room and turning it to max. She covered her ears and Daniel did the same before she pressed play and the sound of loud boisterous rap music nearly flung her out of her bed angrily, her eyes glaring evilly at her smirking daughter and husband.

"I hate you both."

"Get up...She knows so don't worry."

Ariel grabbed a pillow and swung, hitting the pillow that was on Wilhelmina's face. "You little liar..."

"C'mon, I'm dressed and I have your dress ready, get up."

"Go. To. Hell..."

"Too late, we're vacationing there next summer now let's move..." He tugged at her arm and Ariel left momentarily.

"I'll go get the stuff out of the car."

"What stuff?"

Daniel shrugged. "Makeup...stuff or whatever..." He sat on the bed, tugging at the covers as she tightened her robe. "I called Smith."

"Why the hell-"

"Here's what's going to happen in the next month..." She lifted a brow, staring at his audacity to cut her off and just tell her 'what was going to happen. "On Wednesday, I'm going to take you to have the second test done than based on that , we're going to wait a couple weeks until you're 20 weeks...Then...we meet with Dr. Sihachak...He's the best in his field and comes highly recommended by Smith...Best pediatric neurologist there is and suspects that since they caught it so early...He is confident that he can do a procedure that he usually does on babies that are already born like cashew but he just wants to wait until after Christmas...There's just one thing that you're going to hate."

"What?"

"He'll only do it if you go on bed rest until the surgery and 1 week after."

Willie smiled, busting out into a light chuckle until she realized how serious he was. "No!" She flipped back the covers, getting out of bed and walking away from her.

"Wilhelmina."

"I just got back to work, I'm not taking the time off...Forget about it!"

"Wilh-" And the door was slammed in his face.

**OoO**

"I'll think about it."

He glanced over at her side of the limousine, seeing how she had sat on the other side out of anger. Her eyes were focused on the flashing city as the light dimmed with passing time, not looking in his eyes for a second...Until she actually did.

"On one condition..."

"Name it."

"Shave..." She spoke numbly, looking at his growing short boxed beard that lined his face. "I'm starting to get the sudden urge to repent any time I kiss you..."

He chuckled, stroking his chin softly before nodding. "You don't mean that...You're just being mean..."

She stared at him before rolling her eyes. "Shut up."

"Shut up..." Izak mocked from the middle of the limo, equidistant from each of them yet seemingly taking his mother's side.

"Take this as a compliment...I had to find something to ridicule about you and your suit is Valentino so I couldn't say anything."

"You're so stubborn..." He mumbled as he bent down to cross the line in the sand and make it to her side of the limo. He settled beside her, feeling the weight of her head rest on his shoulder after a couple of seconds before hearing a light yawn and then seeing Izak imitate the same action humorously. "I swear you two are twins..."

"Don't be jealous, you'll get one soon enough..." She mocked. "You know...you probably don't want to hear this but it's killing me so I'm going to tell anyway..."

"Okay..."

"Nico had hydrocephalus...Renee had...she had fallen down the stairs arguing with Grant over whether or not to tell me he had fathered her child and...she had a concussion but Nico...something happened and she ended up with a contusion that left cerebral fluid in her brain and just...I'm just telling you to let you know that I've been through this before and it's hard...And I just wanted to ...make sure you prepare yourself...I mean Nico had the surgery after she was born but...If you really want me to do this than she's going to be born with a little scar on her head and it...It's just a lot to handle..."

"Willie if I can handle you for 4 years, I can deal with this..."

She slapped his chest playfully. "That's not funny!"

He leaned over and captured his lips with hers, her hand moving to the back of his neck as he moved closer. She pulled away quickly, feeling her phone vibrate beside her. She reached and he was faster than her, swiping it from her grasp. Pressing answer, he pressed it to his ear. "Yeah Marc, we'll be there in ten minutes..." He moved the phone and kissed her in parallel to her kissing her before. She smiled beneath his kiss, whispering against his lips.

"Izak is watching you..." Daniel pulled away immediately, locking eyes with an icy glare from his son, a look his mother had long mastered.

"Hello? Marc I-" She was cut off, catching herself off guard when she heard Marc's unusual tone with her.

_"Have...Have you heard from Daniel?"_

**OoO**

"Where is he?!" Wilhelmina demanded, pushing through the crowd of wedding party crowded at Marc's dressing room door. She banged on the door harshly, demanding that he open up. "Open the door!"

"Go away!" Marc retorted through an obviously guilty voice.

"Marc I swear, if you don't open this door by the count of three I will kick it down and beat your ass with it!" Betty looked to Claire with wide eyes, both of them knowing the capabilities of that threat and knowing that it was not even a threat, but a promise, a prediction...A ten second view into the future...more like five. "On-" Before she could shout the first number, the door unhinged slowly, leaving a small opening for her to enter and closed the door behind her.

She looked around, seeing a large white couch against the wall, a closet and numerous flowers. On the couch laid two black and white tuxedos, Cavalli by the collar point. Beside them sat Marc, head in his hands before extending his white version of her blackberry for her to see the message on display.

"...Sorry...I can't do it...I never meant to hurt you and I love you but I'm just not ready." She sighs, reading the message from Dr. Smith. "Darling I-"

"I'm relieved..." He whispered, before looking up to her eyes. She stopped, hearing his words and waiting for the rest. "I don't know...if this sounds horrible but I'm not sad...a little hurt that he sent it through text message I mean c'mon even Donald Trump breaks up with people face to face..." She smiled weakly, as did he before she took a seat beside him. "The only thing is...He was supposed to pay for everything..." He laughed harder, thinking about the fact that this was his first thought. "Guess I'll be eating Ramen noodles for the next 3 years.."

"Marc don't be stupid, it doesn't suit your complexion...I will cover it."

"Willie-"

"Please do not tell me that I don't have to because I know I don't...It's just, you shouldn't pout...makes you look like an actual man..."

Marc nodded and sat back on the couch with a huff. She looked to him and for a split second she saw a glimmering in his eyes and she realized what she had done. Just as Ariel had held everything up, bottled her emotions and sealed them in her presence, Marc was doing the same. Previously she had told him to regard emotions as a sign of weakness but in the last couple of years let alone months, she had forgone that personal testament.

"Come here..." He looked over to see her finger pinching at his shirt, pulling him into a tight embrace, a Slater hug. Like a cross between a bear hug and the hugs you get from those older mothers that like to pinch your cheeks. It makes you smile, it makes you nostalgic. It makes you cry, it makes you sad...It made him look beyond the front that he was putting on...He was relieved...He didn't want to get married...But that didn't mean that he wasn't hurt over the meaningless way he was jilted. That doesn't mean he didn't feel the sting of disappointment from spending nearly 4 years with someone and having it all wasted with one mere text message.

"Willie..." He called out through broken sobs.

"Hmm?"

"I really hate modern technology..."

**OoO**

**OoO**

Wilhelmina exits the room, seeing everyone staring at her but the only person she saw was Claire who quickly embraced her, inducing shocked gasps from all who saw. "You look nice..." Wilhelmina noted lightly, hoping no one heard her.

Claire patted her hand that she clasped within hers, whispering back. "The same to you dear."

"You know you still are yet to tell me how you got out of jail..."

"Over tea and crumpets..." She mumbled sarcastically, hinting at Willie's nosiness.

"That is the preferred meal of choice for people of your age isn't it?" Willie quipped, yet not in malice...A difference that had been recognized by those around them.

"Just as long as you're still the nosey bitch."

"Wow this is the twilight zone..." Daniel commented, holding Izak up has he squeezed a juice box into his mouth. "Hey..." He kissed Claire's cheek and pecked Willie's lips, pulling away to release Izak to them in which Claire immediately fawned over her long-missed grandson.

"Miss you Nana..." He buried himself into the pleats of her long black gown. She bent down and kissed his cheeks, wallowing in how full they're.

"I've missed you too sweetheart...And I can't wait until you're birthday..." He grinned, immediately associating his birthday with presents and presents with toys.

Wilhelmina immediately turned around and saw Marc standing in the suit that she had saw on the couch and he reached for her hand and in support, she grabbed his, leading him to the doors of the guests that impatiently resided. The group fell silent and Wilhelmina opened the double doors to a winter wonderland of white with specks of black in the tiniest places. It was elegantly set with guests already at tables for the venue was to serve as a reception and ceremony. They all turned around upon seeing her and cameras snapped away immediately, knowing that she would have been there.

When it was her and Marc, the crowd began to mumble and Marc turned around feeling someone tug at his arm.

His mother.

He knew that he had made a mistake in inviting her and when he felt her reach for his hand to mock Willie's stance, he shook her away, attempting to shoo her back to her seat. He could tell that she was jealous of the bond that Wilhelmina held with her son but the closeness of the bond superseding their own was no fault but her own.

Wilhelmina looked to Marc and he nodded, taking cue. "Ummm...I apologize for the delay...And you all flying out to support Daniel and I but...um..." He stopped, losing his words, his nerve.

Wilhelmina squeezed his hand, chiming in. "Unfortunately, we will not be proceeding with the ceremony..We offer that you do enjoy dinner. There is no need for good food to go to waste..."

"WAIT!" Tyler ran up behind the two of them, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Marc turned around in confusion and Tyler's wild eyes met his, a smirk on his face. "I need a favor."

**OoO**

There was a wardrobe change.

Marc remained in his suit.

Daniel wore Dr. Daniel's suit.

Tyler wore his Brother Daniel's suit.

And considering the fact that they were working on a wedding issue, the dress was no problem.

_Here I am_

_Looking in the mirror_

_An open face, the pain erased_

_Now the sky is clearer_

_I can see the sun_

_Now that all is, all is said and done, oh_

He walked forward with his brother following behind him as they took steps behind him.

His mother walked forward, clutching tear stained roses as she attempted to suppress her tears, held up by her daughter in law.

_There you are_

_Always strong when I need you_

_You let me give_

_And now I live, fearless and protected_

_With the one I will love_

_After all is, all is said and done_

Her friend came down in her black dress, none of them not matching with all black dresses.

A sweetheart bodice of sparkling sequins tops off a wispy chiffon skirt in an enchanting Theia mermaid gown. She walked forward in escort by her best friend who's tears could not have held if he'd duct taped his eye clothes.

_I once believed that hearts were made to bleed_

_(Inside I once believed that hearts were made to bleed, oh baby)_

_But now I'm not afraid to say_

She could see no one but him. When her eyes met his...When her eyes locked with his, her cheeks flushed a hot red and induced her to blushing. Her hair, pinned back in a flourish of curls that provided an elegant twist.

_These precious (precious) hours (yeah)_

_Greet each dawn in open arms_

_And dream, into tomorrow_

When she saw him...She couldn't help but be proud of herself. She began as a selfish, superficial bitch...And she was still a selfish superficial bitch but now...with life experience. She helped him beat alcoholism, he was there with her every step of the way with their lost. At every turn...At every moment...of trouble...All would be well.

_Where there's only love_

_After all is, all is said and done_

When her eyes met his.

"Who gives this woman away?" The presider looked to Marc who clutched at Amanda tightly.

"Never!" He exclaimed, making them all laugh at his seriousness. Amanda glanced at him and he gave up, releasing his hold on her. He kissed her cheek and pulled away...He looked her over, the angelic glow she gave off and pulled her into a warm embrace, forgoing any traditions of what he was supposed to do. "I am so proud of you..."

She nodded and he pulled away, swatting her arm. "Stop crying, that mascara is not water-proof..." She chuckled as he stepped down and took his place besides Betty who acted as a Bridesmaid.

Amanda turned to Tyler and he intertwined her fingers with his, standing before the presider who began shortly.

"We are gathered here today, in this beautiful place, to witness the joining of two lives. This is the marriage celebration of two people who are special to you...If you know them. "The crowd laughed, half of them not even knowing the couple.

"These two separate people have chosen this special time and place to be married to each other. The decision to marry is not entered into lightly, but rather is undertaken with great consideration and respect for both the other person and oneself. You as friends and family are able to celebrate with..." Daniel whispered into his ear. "...Amanda and...Tyler in the making of this important commitment." He turned back to Daniel, making them all laugh again. "Thank you...Amanda...Tyler...The essence of marriage is love and love is one of the highest experiences that we as human beings can share. Love adds meaning to our lives. One of the greatest things we can do is to love another human being as a husband and wife love each other. Marriage symbolizes the sharing of two lives. Yet this closeness will not diminish the character or being of either individual partner. As your marriage continues to grow, your understanding of each other will continue to expand." Daniel's eyes departed from Amanda to Wilhelmina who looked at him from a far, eyes intent on his. His silent words floated to her table and she caught them, mouthing them back as a glistening appeared in his eyes. "Time and Togetherness will gain for each of you a deep knowledge of each other. Today's marriage ceremony signifies the beginning of a lifetime of wonderful human experiences to be shared as a husband and wife. Please face each other and hold hands...Now we celebrate the love that Tyler and Amanda have for each other as family and friends you give social recognition to their intention to permanently accept the other by reciting the marriage vows."

He turned to Tyler. "Do you take this woman to be your wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Will you love her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others and keep only yourself unto her as long as you both shall live?

"I will."

He turned to Amanda. "Do you take this man to be your wedded husband?"

"Hell yes..." Amanda responded dazedly, focusing only on her love at that moment.

"Will you love him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others and keep only yourself unto her as long as you both shall live?"

"Didn't I say hell yes?" The presider smiled at her, as did the crowd that barely knew her and her surrogate family laughed through wet eyes.

"Now Tyler repeat after me..." Daniel looked to Wilhelmina again, seeing her eyes had never diverged from her and took the moment to renew their vows.

"I, Tyler Derek Atkins" I Daniel Emerson Meade. "Take you Amanda Tannen-Sommers." Take you Wilhelmina Vivian Slater. "To be my wedded wife, to have" Always. "And to hold" Forever. "From this day forward, for better or worse," No matter what. "For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part."

"I, Amanda Tannen-Sommers" I Wilhelmina Slater. "Take you Tyler Derek Atkins." Take you Daniel Emerson Meade. "To be my wedded husband, to have" Always. "And to hold" Forever. "From this day forward, for better or worse," No matter what. "For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part."

Had there not been so many people staring at him, he probably would have run to her in that instant.

"As a token of your vows, let you exchange a symbol of love." Daniel hands him the rings and he turns to face the couple. "These rings shall from this time forward be a symbol of your love. Let these unending circles signify to all that your commitment is deep and your love is true...

"Tyler Repeat after me - In token of the vows made between us, with this ring, I pledge to you my love and my life."

"In token of the vows made between us, with this ring, I pledge to you my love and my life."

"Amanda please Repeat after me - In token of the vows made between us, with this ring, I pledge to you my love and my life."

"In token of the vows made between us, with this ring, I pledge to you my love and my life."

"You have vowed to be loyal and loving toward each other. May you keep these vows which you have made here today. May you comfort each other, share each other's joys, console each other during times of trouble, and help each other as husband and wife. May you encourage each other, share each other's joys, console each other during times of trouble, and help each other as husband and wife. May you encourage each other in whatever you set out to achieve. And, most importantly, may you continue to love one another forever. Amanda and Tyler have formalized their vows and the bond between them in your presence and in mine, I THEREFORE, by the powers vested in-"

"Wait!" Amanda interrupted abruptly, causing everyone to look at her. She turned to Tyler, clasping both of his hands. "I just have to...I just have to thank you...for changing me...for...loving me...in spite of myself...There were so many times when you could have walked away and you didn't...We've been through...sooo much and I just had to thank you...for being there with me..."

"Mandy, you don't have to thank me...If anyone should be thanking someone it should be me to you...You're the reason I'm sober...You're the reason I can talk out my problems and not drink them out...And one day...One day we're going to have a house full of kids...One will just have to watch from...above..." He smiled through his tears, trying not to relive their pain.

"By the powers vested in me as a Judge of the Eighth Judicial District, State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife...You may now kiss your bride."

And he blew her one.

**OoO**

_(Inside I once believed, that hearts were meant to bleed)_

_(I'll never)_

_I'll never be afraid to say_

_I need you, I need you, so here_

_So here we are in the still of this moment_

_Fear is gone, hope lives on_

In the dimly lit ballroom, couples fell to the arms of their partners, swaying with a rhymatic beat that racked romanticism. Marc made Betty sit at the bar with him so he wouldn't get approached while Claire danced with Izak, Tyler swayed with his new wife and the rest of the people they didn't know danced closely.

"Do you know how many odds we've beaten?" Daniel whispered as her head laid on his shoulder, his arm around her waist as they danced slowly, just basking in the ambiance.

"Hmm?"

"I mean...Mortal enemies...Hating each other...Age difference...our families..our jobs...And we're still together...We've beaten so many odds...We'll beat this one too..."

"I know..." She nodded on his shoulder.

"But we still have a lot ahead of us..."

"Uh huh..."

"Do you know how much I love you?"

"Remind me..."

"I love you...so much...It kind of scares me..." She lifted her head, looking him in the eyes, her tired eyes and his serious. "Yeah, it's not a bad thing though...It's just...that kind of thing that makes you want to jump in front of a train...The kind of love you don't think about...you just act...And that's scary...but I don't care...Because it's the love I have for you..."

She brought her lips to his and tenderly embraced in a kiss, saying all she had to say with a glance and a kiss. He knew her well enough to know just what it meant.

Ditto.

_We found our happy ending_

_For there's only love _

_And this sweet, sweet love_

_After all is, all is said and done_


	31. 31

He was surrounded by support but he didn't want it. They didn't know why, they didn't know what. He just wanted to see her again, to give her something. But he didn't know if he could bare it. He was surrounded by darkness and he couldn't face it. It knew how to trick him, how to mess with his mind. He just wanted to see the light again. But he no longer knew how to find it.

All he could hear was the shuffling of gowns against the opened tiled floor, the sliding of silk and brush of tulle. Soon the fixture of a bow tie began to suffocating and he pulled at it, soon getting angry at himself. Why he didn't just heed what she said. Why he didn't just listen to her. Why he didn't just leave her alone. Why he had to push her. Why it had to them. Why them. Why then. Why?

Claire swatted at his hands, seeing him near to chocking himself as he attempted to remove what was constricting is breath. Within that moment he felt Betty's hand touch his, Tyler tap his shoulder. He saw Marc's glare of sympathy and Amanda's of pity. He saw the Senator's mock approval and Ariel's confusion and he sprung up from the chair, not wanting to feel their sympathy. He didn't want anyone to empathize with him because they would never understand what he was going through anyway.

They had told him to stay out of her room, for she had already been prepped for emergency surgery. But he didn't care. He had to see her.

She was drifting in and out of consciousness, the occasional nodding off to the side giving it away. Her face was still adorned in makeup, fuller than usual. The shape of her face had begun to take on a rounder figure and though she hated it, he used it to tease her. His fingers brushed back at the site of her cheeks, moving a stray hair from her face only to have her Azul eyes stare back up at him stiffly, droopily looking up as if to drift to sleep at any moment.

"Hey..." She mumbled, the only word she could think of at that moment, the pre-anesthetic beginning to wear in.

"Hey..." He responded softly, smiling weakly as if to put on a strong front passed the notion that he were to fall apart at any moment.

"Routine procedure..." She assured, smirking a bit at his sadness and her non-chalet behavior.

"Routine procedure..." He repeated, nodding though never giving in to worry.

"Are you mocking me?"

He laughed lightly, shaking his head at her before responding lowly. "No."

"I think you are..."

"Trust me, Wills I'm not..." She closed her eyes momentarily and he noticed the blue plastic cap in her hand and realized that had removed it well after the nurse had near forced her to put it on. Gently, he slipped it from her grasps and settled it on her head, rolling his eyes at how high maintenance she was, refusing to wear plastic.

"I don't like you..." Her lips moved but her eyes never opened yet she was well aware that the dreaded hair covering now sat upon her head.

"Ms. Slater-Mr. Meade what are you doing in here?" A nurse had come in, expecting to see Wilhelmina alone.

"Just...I'm going..." HE stood back and let them do their job, trying to hold himself together. He would let her see him worry, see his fear. It was a routine procedure...Just a routine procedure. He watched them begin to wheel her away, heading out of the VIP wing and to the operating wing when he remembered. He never gave it to her.

"Wait!" Claire's head snapped around as Daniel came running down the hallway in his tux, fist clutching something. The staff stopped at the elevator.

"Mr. Meade we need to go..."

"I just...I just need to talk to her really quickly..."

"Mr. Meade, really she should be on the table by now..."

"Fine, fine I'll..I'll go with you and then I'll leave..." He pushed his way onto the elevator, ignoring their sideways glances for his focus was not on them, but her before him.

"Wils...Wils..." He whispered softly beside her ears and her eyes opened slightly, only to close seconds later.

"Hmm?" He released hat was in his fist to hers, closing it quickly. He pressed his lips against the back of her hand m trying to contain himself before saying anything else. "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin-"

"You learned the rosary?" She questioned weakly as they descended into the hospital. "I don't even know the rosary..."

"Well...you said...you said that our kids were going to be raised Catholic so I figured that..." He dropped his head for a second, feeling himself wanting to drop a tear or two, and she could tell despite him trying to hide it from her.

"That you'd give me a Rosary before I died?" Her weak voice had been replaced by the woman he had long fell in love with...And the woman he had long feared.

"Willie, I never said-"

"You thought it."

"Willie-"

"Daniel...I'm not going to die...If anyone is going to die today it is going to be you...out of stupidity...Now go change, you look a mess...And I will see you in a few hours..."

He nodded silently, kissing the back of her hand once more, her fingers now clutching the rosary as she was wheeled off onto another floor and the elevator doors closed. They closed and he didn't know if she would be okay. He didn't know if she would make it. HE didn't know if a Rosary would be the last thing he would ever get her. The elevator doors closed and he didn't know that she was thinking the same thing that he was.

**OoO**

"Do you want to talk about it?" Claire probed.

"No...No...I..You all need to do something...I can't take you all staring at me..." He looked at them all and they nodded, not knowing what to do. They just wanted to help.

"I'll drop by the house and get you a change of clothes..."Betty stood up, holding her dress as she reached for her car keys.

"I'll go with you and pick up Willie's bag..."

"She didn't pack it..." Daniel spoke up as Marc followed behind her, knowing that he couldn't bare sitting and staring at Daniel's face for hours on end.

"Anybody up for coffee? I make a mean caffeine cocktail..." Amanda offered only to be faced with the look of _'Really Amanda?' _from two alcoholics. "Or...Just coffee..." She mumbled, leading Tyler out by his hand and to the cafeteria.

"Just got a text from the nanny and apparently Izak is freaking out...I'll go pick him up...calm him down..." Ariel got up and stopped, looking to the Senator. "Come on Grandpa..." He looked to her and then to Daniel, giving him a glare that chilled his son-in-law before leaving behind his granddaughter.

When the group dispersed Claire looked to her son, concerned but not pushing the edge. "And what do you want me to do?"

"Just...Just listen..."

**OoO**

_6 Hours Earlier_

"Are you alright?" He questioned, looking over to her with concern. She nodded and he lifted his hand that was currently being crushed by hers, the color leaving and feeling nearly gone.

"Oh...Sorry..." She apologized sheepishly, settling a hand over her ever expanding mid-section.

"You still want to go right?" He asked, using his good hand to run up and down her arm, offering a choice of comfort.

"Daniel it doesn't matter if I want to go, I own half of the company; I have to attend and besides we're almost there."

"I don't know why you're so nervous Willie..."

"Hmmmm Let's see, I haven't made a public appearance like this since the BLACK AND WHITE BALL! And let's also remember that I can't do anything because I'm not even supposed to be walking, damn bed rest! Oh and speaking of shackles-After deciding that we can't hide it anymore, tonight's the night I stop wearing baggy clothes! Yay, such a fun night.." She drawled sarcastically, looking out of the window.

"You're a grumpy chubby person..." He teased, earning a chilling glare that immediately shut down his chuckling. "Kidding!" He defended. "C'mon Willie at least try to enjoy this New Year's banquet with me."

"You know I don't like people..."

"Yes I know you don't like people and as soon as you start to hate me, I'm taking you straight home..."

"Fine..."

"No dancing...No drinking...You are on your feet as minimally as possible..."

"Did you fall and hit your head somewhere? Daniel...I do what I want..."

"Willie, you know what Dr. Sihachak sa-"

"Argh! Don't-Okay? Don't start in with me...I'm tired...My head is killing me...I don't want to be here and I am in clear proximity of sharp objects...Save yourself and shut up."

He sighed, taking the hand that she continued to hold tightly and brought it to his lips in which he kissed the back of her hand softly, making her want to slap him for not being able to stay angry with him for too long. "The nervous you is worse than the angry you..."

"What if I fall?"

"You're not going to fall..."

"What if...What if they ask me about Nico?"

"Play it off...Don't let them get to you..." Their limousine came to a strong haul and he moved to get out of the car and release her hand but she held tight, bring him back to kiss him quickly yet he deepened the kiss, leaning into her before she pushed him back, knowing that they were all itching to see who was inside. Daniel exited and she could hear the screaming fans and paparazzi. With a quick glance, she looked to her left to see his arm extended towards her and her heart jumped out of her chest, beating fast.

She rolled her eyes at the little being attempting to injure her ribs and took it as a sign. And let's just be real-She's Wilhelmina flipping Slater! Why the hell was she nervous! She made people nervous, not the other way around.

Her hand latched on to his and she slid to the where he was before taking a big breath. He peeked inside, worried. "Chickened out?" She rolled her eyes. "I can't get up..." He chuckled and reached for her other hand, pulling her up gently until she stepped out of the black Mercedes limo to the gasps and awes of everyone. For a moment everyone fell silent.

Not for The Elie Tahari Florence gown with its high neckline featuring sleek cutouts, a velvet waistband beneath her waist, and the pleated fabric that swept along with every step.

Not for the Dolce Vita "Bonnie" Platform Pumps with a rich mix of suede and leather, black and red.

Not for the dangling earrings that hung diamond by diamond from her ear.

Not for her wedding bands, and the engagement ring that she had never worn in public before considering its value and size.

Not for her sultry pouted lips that were draped in a popping red.

But for the rather large protrusion beneath that velvet waistband, curving with the pleats and revealing that red suede. That moment of silence lasted...just for that moment for within seconds the crowd outside of the gala lost their minds with excitement and she exhaled, the anxiety gone. And she could have sworn she saw Suzuki faint in the corner.

"I told you we'd be fine..." He whispered against the brush of her ear.

_Kiss!_

_Kiss her!_

_Rub the Buddha Belly!_

_Kiss her!_

_Tackle her!_

_Rub the belly!_

_Rub the Forbidden City!_

_Kiss!_

_Kiss her already!_

He turned and was met by her risen brow at the shouted requests of fans and photographers. He shrugged. "Want to give the people what the wa-" Before he could finish, she had pulled him into a quick kiss, inciting a near riot beside them. She pulled back, and he stepped back in near astonishment, leading her to the main room from outside, leaving the fashion world in a tizzy.

The night continued in a whirlwind with congratulations, staring and neither of them seeing much of each other. Occasionally they exchanged glanced but only for a moment for someone would inevitably come to snatch their attention.

To be quite honest, she was kind of jealous. Watching him prance around the room enjoying himself while she sat there like a damn waitress...Yet again she was relieved. She did hate people and gatherings like that forced social contact in which she always tried to ignore.

Tried.

"Oh my-Oh-Oh my- No..I can't she-" Wilhelmina looked up to see Betty heading towards her with a strikingly familiar young man. She rolled her eyes, thinking about how she did not believe that she needed to a baby sister yet Daniel seemed to have everyone taking shifts in watching her.

"I can't...I can't I-OHMYGODILOVEYOU! Justin blurted out, seeing Wilhelmina her face to face. "We've met before...Fashion elf...Seeing gay..."

Wilhelmina lifted a brow and he squealed, taking out his Walgreens camera to snap a pic before scurrying off, leaving Wilhelmina reeling from the large flash...

"Sorry about that..." Betty apologized, sitting across from her.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it..." Willie scoffed, blinking her eyes furiously.

"Wilhelmina I don't hate you."

"You don't like me."

"And you don't like me."

"Are you sure you went to Queens College? That right there is true Ivy League thinking..." Wilhelmina spat sarcastically.

"Exhibit A...But anyway I just came to give this..." She handed her a small, credit card like object. "Daniel told me to give to you in case you got tired or anything...He said it's getting kind of late and after 12, it's kind of going to turn into a party."

She took a look at her watch, seeing that it was 2 minutes to midnight and moved to get up. "Do you know where Daniel is?"

"About to do the Company countdown on stage." She nodded, subconsciously massaging the place of stagnant pain in her chest, only momentary yet sharp and persistent. "Are you okay? Do you want me to go get him?"

"No I'll find him." Just as the words left her mouth, a hand slipped around her and she spun around, met by a pair of lips the crushed hers nearly instantly, pulling away gently.

"I am sooooo sorry...Everytime I came to get you, someone started talking to me but great news...Meade may just have landed their first Adventure Magazine...I picked up a few cards and made a few connections...And-"

"And I am going upstairs..." She flashed him the card and he held onto her, not wanting her to leave.

"Wait, but the countdown is in like...30 seconds...C'mon..."He started to tug her through the crowd and eventually to the stage where the audience of starlets began to count.

_10!_

_9!_

_8!_

_7!_

_6!_

_5!_

_4!_

_3!_

_2!_

Before he could move in for his annual New Year's kiss, the mic had fallen from his hands has most of the crowd gasps, for he had caught her right before she hit the floor.

**OoO**

_Current_

"Just like that...She was...She was out." He sat quietly, feeling his mother's hand move to cover his but he moved his hand away, standing up to pace the white tile floor. "Please...Please mom I don't want pity...I don't want sympathy...I want...I want to see her again...I want to see her do something evil...Just downright mean just to...Just to prove to me that she's okay."

"If I let he hit me would that make you feel better?"

He deflated back into the chair with defeat, having last seen her nearly 2 hours previous. "I should have let her stay home...I shouldn't have made her come. 

"Daniel I know Wilhelmina Slater...You didn't make her do anything...She did what she wanted to do...Like she always does."

"Well then I should have stopped her."

"Daniel can you stop a hurricane?"

"No."

"A tornado?"

"No."

"A Tsunami?"

"No."

"Then you can't stop her, she-" Claire was interrupted by the cries and screams of a familiar toddler, fighting his way out of Ariel's arms. She released him eventually and he ran in his footy pajamas to where Daniel now stood, catching him in his arms. Izak's head buried in the crook of his neck, wiping his tiny hands at his pulsating red eyes, swollen with crying.

"Buud...Bud what's the matter?" He bounced him a bit like his mother would, rubbing soothing circles on his back as the screaming descended and wailing reduced to silent tears.

"Apparently the nanny let him watch Fashion Buzz...They replayed the...Countdown and he's been freaking out ever since..."

Daniel sucked his teeth, holding Izak to his chest as he hiccupped in effect from his multiple tantrums. "He's probably exhausted..."

"And he's been asking for mom..."

"Mama?" Izak looked up with bursting blue eyes, nearly purple from the red veins yet still begging the question of his mother. Where was she? Why did mommy fall? Where was mommy?

He didn't know what to tell him, what to say. How did he tell him what was going on? Did he tell him what was going on?

"Hmmmm...Mommy is sleeping, that's all...She's just a little tired..." HE felt his mom's hands moving to take Izak and he let her after saving his ass from another tantrum. Izak wrapped his arms around her, seemingly about to go to sleep as she walked the extent of the waiting room and the Senator waiting in the adjoining hallway.

"Excuse me..." Daniel got up, walking to the hallway where the Senator stood. "Are you...upset...with me about something?" Daniel questioned, not in the mood to deal with his attitude."

"How about you tell me why the hell my daughter is on some steel table getting surgery on what...Her heart? Tell me why you let a sick pregnant woman with a bad heart and a terminally ill baby stay out until 12 am while you go drink like a frat boy!"

"She's not terminally ill! My daughter is fine and my wife is fine and none-NONE of this my fault! Don't blame me because you chose the most stressful time in her life to become a father!"

"Give it back!"

"I don't have it!" Daniel shouted back angrily, not expecting the Senator's fists to ball up around the folds of his shirt and push him against the wall behind him, banging his head against the wall.

"You lost it you stupid mo-"

"I gave it to her!" Daniel pushed him off, attracting the attention of the family as Claire attempted to shield Izak's view. "I gave something to her that you should have given her a goddamn long time ago!"

"That was her mother's!"

"And she should have gotten it a long time ago."

"What, you gave it to her so she can die with it just like her mother!? Do you want her to die!? Huh?" Daniel inhaled deeply, shocking everyone when he spun around with a right hook to the Senator's jaw. Nearly immediately he froze...HE just punched a 70-something year old man...He just punched Wilhelmina Slater's father...HE just punched the Senator.

"Wait I'm sorry-" He bent down to help the man up but darkness entered his eyesight when the Senator's hand reached up at him.

**OoO**

Opening his eyes, he reached for his head to feel that if was throbbing but nothing else was seemingly wrong...They didn't attach an IV but he was in a hospital bed, still in his tux and seeing the sun rise in the wee hours of the morning.

"So is giving my father a black eye your new form of stress relief? A step up from drinking but safety wise-I don't know...That man has some serious connections.

"Willie?" He questioned, lifting his head from his own pillow to see her partly dazed and fiddling with her black nails.

"In the flesh..." She retorted sleepily only to have him spring out of bed and make his way to her, forgetting the pounding in his head.

"Are you alright? How'd it go?" Is she okay? Did you-Is she-Are?"

"She...is fine...The surgery went fine...They were able to drain the fluid from her skull and redirect it somewhere else...I however am scared because the first thing that I saw when I woke out was your mother's bony ass face...I don't think I can forgive you for that one..."

"Listen, I'm sorry...What happened with your dad that was just...I'll apologize..."

"Well he already left for Washington..."

"He left?"

"Daniel Charles Slater does not do well with death or even the prospect of death...I'm actually kind of glad he left so I wouldn't have to deal with you two's cheerleader drama."

"So you're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"Well I assaulted your father after making you go to a banquet that-"

"Daniel...One...I found it funny that you actually took a fist to my father and second...You didn't, in fact you can't _make _me do anything...I do what-"

"-You want to do...I know mom told me."

"See, even the wrinkled sea horse knows that...Please, do not spend the rest of this time sulking or feeling bad...I'm fine...I passed out probably because I didn't take my meds and she...she is fine...we're fine...Now where is Izak?"

"Crying in the waiting room?"

"Crying? Why is he crying? What did you do!?" She swatted him across the arm, making he step back in pain.

"Damn Willie! I didn't do anything...it was the nanny that I will let you fire and do anything you want to her excluding illegal crimes...But the nanny let him watch Fashion Buzz and he saw everything."

"I don't give a damn, I'm breaking her legs."

"Willie-"

"I'm breaking her legs!

**OoO**

So yes, the day had begun with a scare, with sadness, with grief but it went on to get better, brighter, lighter. Sure, she had to stay in recovery for the next few days but he was fine with that. Sure, he had a small concussion but he was fine with that. 7 days had passed through and she was ready to come back. They all knew that she was pregnant. They all knew that she was admitted into the hospital. No one knew why but that didn't stop them from camping outside her window until she released and then outside of the house with posters and flowers and mics and paparazzi. She knew that her relationship with the world was someone bi-polar but the extremities of hate to adoration that she saw sometimes baffled her.

However, work had been too long abandoned by her and the issue was due in three days with only one thing having her signature on it. Sheila and Marc and the rest of the gang probably had attempted some halfcocked-issue and expected her to be too sick to say no. They didn't know that she was coming back so soon nor did they know her reaction.

But they were in for a surprise.

Seeing her from behind, he was almost afraid to touch her with the far that she might eat him in return. The lining of her hips were molded by her curve-hugging Yves Saint Laurent high-waisted pencil skirt, cinched below the bust b a crimson red suede belt, wide and biting. All of the black nearly made him sweat, seeing the black YSL peasant blouse that tied at the wrist and began at the neck, making a modest yet scary ensemble in collaboration with her nearly 5 inch Dolce Vita Bonnie Two-Tone Suede and Leather Platform Pumps.

She turned around to reveal that she was on the phone, hand beneath her pencil skirt concealed bump as her fair fell past her shoulders in a volumized style, straight yet again, scary. Seeing her red lips made him take a look to make sure she was still her and not Wilhelmina 007.

She motioned him over, pointing to a note on the table. He came close and she kissed his cheek quickly before scurrying off, still on the phone. Reading the note out loud, it said; _A CALLED, MEETING PUSHED UP STEFANO PILATI WAITING FOR YOU NOW_

"Damn it!" He exclaimed, looking at his watch momentarily before running to the coat rack to grab her black petti coat and Izak's coat and his coat. He looked back, Izak under his arm and all of their coats on his shoulder to see Wilhelmina still on the phone as if she didn't write the note. "Willie!" She rolled her eyes and turned around and he sighed, running out to the car to strap in Izak only to see that it was beginning to snow. He put on his coat and Izak's coat and buckled him in, running back inside with Wilhelmina's coat to see that she was off the phone. "We have to go!"

"That was my father."

"Something wrong?"

"Apparently Nico's father has been trying to contact me and the Senator but he has not responding and refuses to give him my number. He found out about Nico and is supposedly pissed that I didn't call him."

"You didn't tell him that she passed?"

"It was not my responsibility...And it doesn't matter anyway, the Senator is holding off his Visa from Dubai as long as he can but he doesn't know how long that will last."

"Well is he dangerous?"

"He...He just...you know what let's talk about this later."

"But-"

"Like you said, we have to go!"

**OoO**

Ahhh...She loved that feeling. When she stepped off of that elevator she could have sworn there were multiple...MULTIPLE jaws on the floor. Perhaps it was her surprise return? Perhaps it was the large smile on her face or the burgeoning bump leading the way but all in all...they were stunned. But not as much as when they saw her being embraced by Mama Meade...Not choked...Not stabbed...But actually hugged!

Marc looked up from his Editing desk and nearly fell to the floor, springing up and running towards his boss lovingly. He halted immediately, one foot away from her. "Permission to squeal?"

"Permission granted."

He jumped in glee, letting out a piercing squeal of excitement before containing himself, opening her office door for her. "This way Queen of Babylon!"

"Marc I need you to do something for me..." She set her bag down on the chaise next to her coat as she took it off. Their eyes fell to her stomach and she snapped her fingers, getting agitated with everyone doing that. "Eyes up! I need you to get all of the departments into the conference room in ten minutes...And a ladder."

"A ladder?"

"Yes a ladder and the mockup-Go!"

He scurried off, barking orders to others as she had just done him. She sat down in her chair, nostalgia filling her before realizing that Claire was still there. "Yes, dear Monster-in-Law?"

"I just...wanted to give you something."

"A terminal disease?"

"No, an actual gift." She set the blue box on her desk and Wilhelmina leaned forward, lifting the lid to reveal a pink silk headband with a big silver box.

Wilhelmina stretched to its small extent between her fingers. "Claire what is this?"

"Daniel...told me why you were in the hospital and I did some research and...And well I know that she is going to be born with a small scar and rather than promote the rumour that you eat children, I thought it best that she have her own little signature headband."

Wilhelmina looked at it for a few seconds before standing up and putting it back in its box. "That was sweet of you."

"I know...I almost didn't get it because it was such a nice gesture but then I realized that it wasn't for you it was for her."

Wilhelmina rolled her eyes with a light chuckled, walking around her desk to place the blue box in her bag. "Now after this lovely Lifetime moment...I am due to scare a couple people shitless." She smiled and Claire shook her head, realizing that some things will never change.

**OoO**

As soon as she entered, the room fell silent, all of them on edge and confused as Marc held up a black ladder near the concept mock-up wall. With pursed lips she opened her mouth to speak but found that instead of them looking at her eyes, petrified in fear they were staring at her stomach in near astonishment.

"From this day forward everyone in this room has been placed on probation. You piss me off-You're fired. Your outfit is hideous-You're fired. You stared at me again and upon its arrival, I will train it to bite you." Now they were looking petrified.

"As for the issue...I took a look at it..." She scanned the room. "I read it...I took notes...Here is what I think of it." She swung her hips to the ladder that Marc had position and began to climb to the top until she could reach the extra-large photos and ads that were in position for the issue. Without warning, she started to tear at them, ripping them in half and throwing them to the grown, Marc holding the ladder in astonishment. Within seconds 75% of their hard work had been erased with no remorse on her part.

"Wilhelmina what are you doing?" Daniel questioned, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest seeing her on a shaky ladder, not holding on and tearing up mock-ups.

"Oh we're just having a meeting..." She replied sarcastically as he approached the ladder. She could tell by the look on his face that he didn't want her up there but she took the opportunity to rip the last two photos before coming down, grabbing his hand as she made her way down. "I have never-Seen such CRAP in my life!"

She picked up the Mode book. "You all have three days...72 hours to get the best issue this magazine has ever seen together or this-" She threw the book to the floor and stab her stiletto into it. "-Will be your face. Meeting adjourned!"

They nearly fought to get out of that room, pushing each other to get out of that room. he kept a stern face, eyeballing each person until it left just him and her and even he stared, scared out of his mind just from the little bit that he heard.

"Ugh..." She touched a hand to the bottom of her stomach, grimacing at the feeling.

"Something wrong?"

"She...She likes kicking my incision and it's a pain in the ass."

He chuckled, kissing her cheek. "Wils that's retaliation; you probably scared her too!"

**OoO**

Yes, she was reveling in it! Reveling in the fear, reveling in the power. Everyone looked terrified, never looking up from the computer with the fear that she may kill them if they did. Seriously...They thought she was going to murder them. All they could think of was Wilhelmina's attitude plus hormones equals

D

I

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A

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T

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Marc was sitting at his desk, just rocking with excitement. The queen was back and the only sad part was that he was no longer in front of her office but moved to the Editor's side of the office for his new position. Yet on the plus side, he could see straight from the elevator as see who was coming and where they were going. So when he saw Grant Shepard step off of the lift, anger in his eyes, he scurried over to Wilhelmina's assistant murmuring quietly. "Call security but do not call Mr. Meade."

He ran inside Wilhelmina's office and closed the door behind him, lying against it.

"What the hell are you doing?" She questioned before seeing the door fly open and Marc be inevitably be smacked into the door.

"You insecure, insensitive bitch."

Willie sighed, leaning back in her chair non-chillingly as if the presence of her ex-husband ceased to phase or amaze her. "Hello to you too."

"Oh what so I had to find out about my own goddamn kids death by way of the fucking news!?" Marc stood up from his shock, moving along the wall as if he was willing to move in at any moment

"It was not my responsibility to notify you. Had you spoken to her more often, you might've noted her departure." Wilhelmina responded coldly, returning her attention to her computer as if he was a miniscule aspect of her existence.

Without a second thought, he had swept the contents of her desk from before her, her laptop falling to its death as well as any pictures of Daniel or Izak, shattering in glass. His palms slammed down on the base of her desk and his face inched towards hers. "Do you want me to embarrass you Wanda? Hmmm? You think sitting in this glass office on your damn high horse gives you power? You think I give a damn that you're the Editor-In-Chief of an Eating Disorder collection of ugly clothes? You were nothing than and you're nothing now..." HE smirked when he thought he had won before she jumped up as well, meeting his face to mere centimeters.

Then, she smiled.

"Aww...You're so cute...You actually think I still fear you...Poor baby...Hey, I have an idea? Take your ass out of my building before I sic law enforcement on you...Or worse, I'll kick you out myself..." Her words cut menacingly through the room, her voice hanging onto each one.

"I'd like to see that."

Her eyes hardened, her tongue darting out before she licked her lips subconsciously. "Try me."

Daniel arrived in her office, seeing the shattered glass, behind him being Tyler, Security and nearly the entire male Mode staff. He stayed silent and Grant turned around, seeing the army behind him.

"Get out." She ordered in a low whisper.

"Not until you tell me what happened to my kid!"

"I believe she said get out..." Daniel spoke up, his unshaven face making him look actually older than he was.

Grant chuckled, stuffing his hands in his pockets when he realized that if he even thought about raising a hand to her, he would be dead within minutes. "Alright...I'll go...But...Congratulations on your little...bastard..." He motioned at her stomach. "Just hope he doesn't inherit your genes, because you know plastic surgery isn't genetic..." He smiled evilly, knowing he had struck a nerve at one of her biggest insecurities. She stood motionless, spinning on his feet only to meet by Daniel's fist clotheslining him directly in the nose.

He felt to the floor, security immediately filing him before carting him out of the building. Daniel flicked his hands, nodding off the rest of the male employees and Tyler who had his brother's back the whole entire time.

"Call maintenance..." He ordered before closing the door and the curtains. When he turned around he intended to tell her how venomous her words were with surprise on his part but was struck speechless when he saw that she still just stood there now just clutching her chest, eyes wide as if she had just saw a ghost. "Hey..." He took her hand, sitting her down. "Hey, relax...He's gone..."

She nodded. "I'm fine...I just...I thought...I know...I know that if security hadn't shown up..."

"What?"

"He would have hit me...That...man...He...He has a side to him..." She shook her head, taking a deep breath before rising from the chair and to the debris to pick up her laptop.

"Willie..." He stopped her, looking into your eyes. "You're not still afraid of him are you?" She shook her head no, thinking that it had been years. She had matured; she had become her own person. She was no longer some mousey assistant at Fey's beck and Call. She was Wilhelmina freaking Slater and he was just Grant Shepard.

A man she knew that she hadn't seen the last of.

**OoO**

_Any mistakes are my own. I'm soooo tired lol Hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to Review! :D_

_**-NWJ**_


	32. El Código

Sleep. Food. Sex. That is what he enjoyed in his life. Other things brought him joy both those were the easiest in comparison to the others. So he had just ate, cooked a large sirloin steak with medallion potatoes and a Caesar salad courtesy of lessons he'd been receiving from Alexis. Sex? Pshhhh, He didn't even have to talk about it. But sleep?

He was being deprived.

Every ten minutes it seemed like she would shift out of her sleep and wake him up unintentionally only to fall back asleep to do it again ten minutes later. Eventually in his sleep, he was interrupted by a flashing light only to realize that she had turned on the TV, propped up by her pillows and two of his.

"Argghhhh Wils are you making fun of Ana Wintour on the September Issue again?"

"You should really see this blue vein in her neck...It looks like a caterpillar..." She responded drowsily and obviously sleep deprived.

"Babe go to bed..."

"I can't.

"Do you want me to stay up with you until you do?" He looked up from his pillow only to see her nod softly before yawning, the yellow illuminating in her kaftan from the TV.

HE sighed, taking a deep breath before taking two pillows from her stack and placing it behind him, leading her body to his in which she laid her head down on his chest, still mocking Ana.

"Did you see it yet?"

"No."

"How could you not, it's half of her neck."

"I don't know Willie maybe it's the fact that I'm half blind at 2am..."

"Okay well there...you had to see it there..."

"Sure did."

"Liar."

"I am getting you a prescription for pregnancy insomnia..."

"There is none..."

"I'll make one..." He joked, stroking the hair from her face and to behind her ear.

"I have to find a new doctor..."

"Well have you called Smith?"

"No...He left Marc at the altar, why would I?"

"Because he is the best there is, knows you like the back of his hand and already delivered Izak...And we can trust him..."

"You know what...I'll handle the doctor situation, you just paint the room."

"You have to tell me which room you want me to clear out."

"Fine."

"And what color."

"Can you make any decisions by yourself?"

"I would if you weren't so handy with an AK47."

She rolled her eyes, pinching his bicep before settling her head back down on his chest. "For God's sake, don't do pink."

"Why not?"

"It's so conventional...And it nauseates me...baby pink...looks like baby spit-up."

"I'm too tired for a comeback..."He surrenders, closing his eyes for a second only to have her swat him seconds later.

"My eyes don't close, your eyes don't close."

"Sweetie..."

"Don't you sweetie me..."

"Honey..."

"Daniel..."

"Baby..."

"Daniel..."

"Wils..."

"No."

"Willie..."

"No."

"Vivian, go to bed!" He spoke sleepily only to have her jolt forward having heard her middle name. Even in the dark, he could see her eyes harden with a menacing stare. "Okay, Okay...bad approach..."He rubbed his hands u and down her arms, attempting to spare his life for the night... "Okay...Tomorrow after work I will...draw you a bath...give you TWO massages and..."

"AND?"

"And...I'll pretend to be Human Services so that the employees can't report you if your hit them."

"Good night..." She smiled, turning around before settling into the covers and turning off the television..."

"Freaking...bi-polar..." He mumbled playfully.

"What?" She barked.

"Ana...Ana Wintour's veins...freaking ginormous."

"Asshole."

"Wilhelmina!"

"I'm turning the TV back on and you are going to see that damn vein!"

**OoO**

Usually woken up by her sharp nails or lingering tongue, he found himself in a deep slumber until eh brightness of the sun came penetrating through the window, hitting his eyes and snapping them open. He looked to his left only to see that she was still asleep peacefully after a night of tossing of turning. He hated to disturb her but found it safer to do so then let her get made later for sleeping in against her will.

"I'm not going..." she mumbled when he first attempted, running a hand down her face.

"What's the matter?"

"I slept for two hours...My head is literally killing me...And if she kicks my stitches one more time I swear to God-"

"Okay, alright...I'll get you some Advil...Do you want me to take Izak?"

"No just bring him in here before you leave."

"Are you sure you want to stay...I mean tomorrow is that two-deadline you gave them right?"

"Yes but if I go I will be miserable and usually I don't care but if someone pisses me off they are liable to lose their life."

"Point taken."

**OoO**

"Did you say that you're taking Wilhelmina's 2 o'clock with Donatella?" Amanda questioned, walking down the tunnel with him.

"Yup and her Noon appointment with Donna Karen..."

"Is she alright?"

"Yeah, yeah...She's fine just let her assistant know that she will not be coming in today...And if she calls connect me with her immediately. 'Kay?"

"No prob, Bob..."

"Oh, I forgot to ask you...How was the Honeymoon?"

"Ummmm Considering it was intended for Smith and Marc and it was at an all gay-men retreat...It was awesome!"

Daniel chuckled. "Did Tyler have as much fun?"

"Well he got uncomfortable because they kept touching him but I just told him that that was their nature..." She nodded, running off into the opposite direction as he went to Willie's office to pick up her portfolio for the meetings he was taking for her. Without looking up he found himself bumping into o Sofia who looked up and smiled.

"Oh...I'm sorry..." Daniel apologized, unlocking Wilhelmina's door.

"Oh that's okay...Is Wilhelmina here?"

He chook his head, pushing the door open to let her in as he made his way to her desk. "Uh...No..Anything in particular that you needed to speak to her about?"

"Just the Mode budget...It is a tad high..."

"Well she is relaunching..."

"I know and that is why I wanted to speak with her about it...Just to clarify a few things...And to you as well about Meade as a whole."

"Do we all need to talk?"

"I guess so..."

"Soon?"

"Soon..."

"Ummmm..Why...don't you join us for dinner then...Bring your husband..." HE offered, seeing it as a win-win to let Willie see that Sofia was married and that there was absolutely no chemistry with them anymore.

"Really?"

"Really..."

"Well...Okay...Alright...My husband, he is familiar...with the magazine business so this should be interesting..."

"Yeah it should...Tonight at...7?"

"Tonight...at 7."

**OoO**

"Willie!" Daniel called out, rushing through the door at 6:55. He skidded across the foyer and up through the stairs, calling her name only to have her not respond. He busted through their bedroom, seeing Izak snuggled up beside her, both of them sleeping. "Did they sleep all day?" He questioned aloud, calling her name again. "Willie...Willie...Vivian!" She jolted forward, nearly stabbing him with her stare.

"What!?"

"Wake up! Sofia is going to here in 2 minutes!"

"Who the hell is Sofia?" She growled sleepily, turning away from him.

"Our C.F.O! Willie wake up! I invited her to dinner, didn't you get my message?!"

She opened her eyes, giving him the death glare. "You invited your ex to dinner on the worst day of my life?"

"I thought you would feel better."

"Well I don't...Tell her I'm in a coma, tell her I died, Come up with whatever but I am not having dinner with her tonight..."

"It's business related..."

"I don't care."

"Her husband is coming..."

"I don't want to see him either."

"Willie please..."

"Daniel, any other day but today...Any other day! But right now...Right now...The only reason I am not choking your right now is because if I stand up my head just might explode."

"Alright, Alright I'll just call her and tell her that you don't want to see her."

"Daniel!"

"I guess those tabloids are right...You don't know what a pot looks like." HE turned his back so she couldn't see him struggling to suppress his laughter.

"You expect me to cook too?"

"Well I don't think they want to eat chicken and eggs Willie."

From behind him he could hear her growling, fighting an internal battle of what to do. Crossing his fingers, he wasn't expecting the sharp pain in his calf that came from her kicking him there. "I hate you."

He grinned like a small child, watching her walk passed him. "...Looooove you!"

**OoO**

Daniel had driven to their home and then driven them back so that they could find the house but without written record. Driving intentionally slow, he hoped to God that Wilhelmina wasn't in one of her moods where he would come home and the door would be locked and she'd be exacting her revenge.

Instead of a 20 minute drive, it was a long 40 minute one, ending with Daniel exiting his car slowly, seeing Sofia and her husband pulling up. Sofia got out, the car pulling up further.

"He's going to go around so we can get out easier..." She answered the question in his eyes, leading her up to the steps. "Wow...This is..."

"Large?" HE answered, opening the door to an immaculate abode, nothing out of place and everything seeming...unlived in...She stood in the foyer and he offered to take her coat. "This will be a great time to catch up...get to know our CFO..."

"And for me to know my new boss...Well since the last time I knew him..." She smiled and he cleared his throat, taking her coat to the closet, before seeing Izak run out of the kitchen, all smiles.

"Daddy, Dad-" He froze, seeing Sofia's unfamiliar face. No, he didn't know her. No, he didn't recognize her. And obviously, he didn't like her. His eyes hardened and Daniel squeezed his shoulders gently, trying to put him at ease and settle his mother's personality.

"Sofia...This is Izak...Izak this is Mrs. Amissi..." HE looked her up and down and ran back to the kitchen in his black pants and tucked in gray dress shirt.

"He's cute..." She laughed at his awkward behavior, not taking it for much.

Behind them, the door opened slowly and in stepped Sofia's new husband. His skin, a bubbling tan beneath a deep black main that met his neck yet never his shoulders. A dazzling smile and striking features...All eerily familiar.

"Daniel Meade..." HE extended his hand and he extended his hand as well.

"Eduardo Amissi..." Daniel nodded with a smile, catching a light whiff of the man's scent. A familiar scent.

"Wilhelmina should be out any minute now..."

"I have to say, I'm still surprised."

"That we're married or that we're still married..."

"Both...But I can see you're happy...But I also never thought I'd see the day..."

"Really?"

"Really...Daniel Meade settled down and married to one of-No the most ruthlessly b-"

"Beautiful women in the business?" Wilhelmina finished her sentiment, picking a rather flattering term in preference to the one Sofia was preparing to say. Sofia smiled flashily, extending her hand as Daniel had done to her husband mere moments before.

Wilhelmina went to shake her hand but was nearly awe struck by the gaping chest that greeted her, practically waving hello from her V neck Ralph Lauren, hugging her body.

"You're tall.." Sofia commented awkwardly...

"And you're..." Daniel pinched her side, feeling a quip about to roll from her tongue. "...shoes are very lovely."

Wilhelmina looked away, really hating her predicament at that point. "Wilhelmina Slater..." She shook Eduardo's hand and he smiled, a whiff of his scent passing her that nearly swung her headache 360.

"Well...Is Dinner ready?" Daniel questioned, looking down to see Izak clinging to Wilhelmina's leg discretely.

"Just about..."

"Oh you cooked?" Sofia questioned, an undeniable surprise in her tone.

"Well you can't believe everything you read in the tabloids...We don't eat orphans every day, Just on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"It's Tuesday."

"Hope you bought your appetite." She spat sarcastically with a wicked smile, taking the extended bottle of champagne from Eduardo. She walked away, feeling Izak clobber close to her, never moving unless she did.

Daniel scratched his head, trying to make the night as non-awkward as possible. "Uhhh...Lets...go to the dining room..."

**OoO**

"Wilhelmina, you have to admit that the spending for Mode is a teensy bit high..."

"Well considering that it's the re-launch, I'd say I'm under-budget..."

"But you have that opinion because you're ignorant-" Wilhelmina's eyes made like daggers through her forehead. "-To the economics of the corporation."

Below the table, Daniel felt her squeeze his hand that rested on her thigh, restraining her anger. "Don't poison her..." Her whispered as she passed Sofia the salad.

"Only because she handles our money.." Wilhelmina whispered angrily, biting her tongue until it nearly fell off. "Well you make think that I am ignorant to the economics of Meade but, that is your naive as a CFO-"

"But former Editor-"

"Former...Editor of A MYW...Not a fashion magazine. Over 20 years, I know how to do my job..."

"Well maybe that's your disadvantage...You take your past experiences as current application...Like an older person.."

"Oh shit..." Daniel mumbled, seeing Eduardo get uneasy as well as they felt the claws come out besides them in their wives.

"Sofia, dear the budget is not changing...Mode's spending is not changing,...And that's just how it is."

"Then why am I here if you're not going to resolve anything?"

"You tell me." Wilhelmina retorted, not liking her sharp tone.

"So Eduardo what do you do for a living?" Daniel questioned as Wilhelmina moved to get up from the table to reach for the table with the desserts that sat outside the dining room.

"Oh just a...a cologne factory..."

"Cologne...What type?"

"El Código."

The crash from within the depths of the kitchen caused them all to jump, with Daniel up and out of his seat. "Wilhelmina are you alright in there?"

"Ummmmm It's getting kind of late...Do you all mind if we skip desert?"

"Not at all..." Sofia jumped up, ready to go. "Thank you for this...ehmm...Interestingly short meeting...dinner...meeting..."

Daniel nodded, leading them out to where they previously stood. He grabbed their coats, handing Sofia's hers first and then Eduardo's catching a now poignant scent that assaulted his nostrils.

Within minutes of awkward goodbyes, he let them leave and reminded himself to never ever invited employees over for dinner again. In the kitchen, he found Wilhelmina using the counter as leverage to get on her knees, seeing the spill of glass on the floor mixed with Shortcake. "Wait, wait I'll get that..." He offered, taking her hand to pull her up with shock in well awareness that Wilhelmina Slater did not do manual labor.

"What happened?"

"I just...It's stupid..." She shook her head, feeling her head return as she stared at the broken glass on the floor.

"Willie I'm sure it's..."

"IT's trivial Daniel, I...I don't want to talk about it..." She stormed away, leaving a trail of confusion behind her. Confusing and misunderstanding as he wondered..."

"What the hell just happened?"

**OoO**

"This Margarita hurts my jock strap..." Amanda complained, her face plunged into Betty's kitchen table.

"Oh shut up!" Marc hissed drunkenly. "You stole my fucking wedding day...And married the man of your dreams while mine works 10 minutes from my house and won't even return a text! I was jilted by the Grinch!"

"You two are pathetic..." Betty commented, sipping as she leaning back in her chair.

"Pathetic? Says the woman who refuses to talk about her secret break up with Matt...This ass...dumped you...for a Safari..." Marc spat, rolling his eyes at her attitude.

Amanda laughed and Betty scoffed. "I don't know why you're laughing Mandy when you can barely stand to face Daniel in the morning because you're jealous of him and Wilhelmina..." Amanda's eyes darted up and focused in as well as she could despite her intoxication.

"Fuck you and your damn taco shell..." Amanda laid her head back on the table, turning to Marc and away from Betty.

"You're jealous of Danimina?" Marc questioned curiously."

"Can we please just drop this and continue to drink liquids that will eventually give us liver disease?!Please, Can I look forward to that, please!" Amanda yelled half-heartedly.

"Oh Mandy...You're not mad about the...the baby are you?"

"All I wanted was liver disease but nooooo." Amanda left the table and plunked down on the couch in a stupor.

"I have got to find Wilhelmina a new assistant..." Marc changed the subject.

"I thought she had one already..."

"She did...and she fired him the last time she saw him..I swear, I cannot keep filling in...I'm doing my job...being her assistant and half-asses being the Creative Director because we don't have one of those either!"

"I could do it!" They turned around, seeing Justin emerge from the bedroom hallway.

"Justin what are you doing here?" Betty questioned tiredly.

"Not important AB, anyway...Why don't you let me do it..." HE directed the conversation to Marc."

"Look Justin...I know you worship her and the mud prints she leaves in the rain but serving Wilhelmina Slater is no joke. When I was her assistant...I took meetings for her...I drove her places, I predicted what kind of coffee she wanted before she even figured it out...I freaking cut her croutons! You'll have to help plan Izak's birthday part-"

"O. M. G...You went to Izak Tristan Slater Meade's birthday party? That's like the hottest most exclusive toddler event of the year!"

"Hey...HEY! Betty tell your son to look at me!" Amanda called drunkenly from the couch.

"Amanda he is not my son!"

"Betty! Just because a child isn't planned doesn't mean that he shouldn't be loved." She scolds. "Now you..." She points to Justin... "If Marc gets you the job will you stop squealing."

"Possibly..."

"Marc." Amanda called out...

He sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

Justin's eyes widened. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH(etc.)"

"LIAR!

**OoO**


	33. If I Never Say A Word

His diva. His mantra. His idol. His symbol. His second to Shakira, but he would never tell her that. But if he knew that she could sing, he would probably faint and replace Shakira in an instant. God, he idolized this woman! He wanted to be her, see her, greet her, walk beside her, serve her! He wanted to be the Wang to her Vera and he was determined to make his wants a reality.

Sitting before her in an outfit that he had changed nearly 17 times before being dragged out of the house by his Aunt Betty, he was absolutely petrified. Not of her though; But of the slight chance that she may say no. They had sat perfectly silent for 20 minutes since the moment he walked in. He never moved, his breathing even silent as to not tick her off. She never looked up from her computer screen, ignoring him completely until he finally had the gall to say something.

"I don't know if you remember...but-" Her eyes shaded his harshly as if to warn him that interrupting her reading better be for something good. "A couple years ago I think you were like temporarily blindor something for a day and Marc abandoned you and I-"

"Are you trying to get Marc fired?"

"No, never I just-"

"You just what? Thought that by reminding me of a little favor you did for me I might think it time for me to repay the favor?" She raised a brow, closing her laptop before leaning back in her chair, eyeing him closely as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Ummmm...I..." He looked in his over-the-shoulder tote and fumbled with the contents only to slide a large circle blue thing with a stick branching out beneath it onto her desk. "Here you...Here you go."

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a lollipop...Well a Prego pop to be more specific...IT's supposed to calm_ ze bebe_..." She stared at him stoically and he scratch his eyebrow, beginning to sweat. "Marc..Marc told me that you've got quite the acrobat on your hands..."

"What makes you think that I suck on stick-like figures?"

Marc, who had been standing there nervously beside Justin, quickly covered his mouth to hush the teen. "Shh...don't answer that..."

Just as Wilhelmina was about to scare him shitless, Daniel and Claire waltzed in quietly, standing on the wall as if to watch the interview transpire.

Wilhelmina tucked the stick figure beneath her desk and looked to Justin, opening her laptop. "I need something to drink." She begins.

"Like what?" He asks, beaming over his first task.

She narrows her eyes at him. "Guess." HE looks around as if to look for a clue and Marc steers him off to scurry into the distance. "You have 3 minutes." Daniel and Claire stepped forth, smirks on their faces.

"Why are you being so mean to him? He's a nice kid."

"Exactly...And _nice kids _get eaten in this business. Don't get me wrong...I don't mind a little worshipper following me around anywhere I go, I just have to train him..."

Daniel nods, going to touch the lollipop on her desk that she had put back only to be swatted. "Mine!"

"I have a question for you two..." Claire begins. "What the hell did you do to Sofia Reyes?"

Daniel scratched the back of his neck as Wilhelmina shrugged. "Why, what did she say?"

"Well she asked me for the Mode quarter projectiles and I told her that Wilhelmina had them and she said that she would just send her assistant because she didn't want to make waves."

"Claire-"

"Wilhelmina did you threaten her?"

"No! I save my fatal plans for you dear..."

"Well don't you know how to make a person feel special, our CFO is practically running for the hills."

"And run for the hills she should! She shouldn't be here, her employment is a mistake and should be treated as such."

Just before Claire could retort, Justin returned with a Starbucks cups teaming hot before placing it on her desk. "Your drink of choice, my queen."

She takes a whiff and slides it back to him. "I don't drink coffee anymore."

HE slides it back. "It's decaf."

She slid it back. "What's the point of drinking a caffeinated drink with no caffeine?"

"Well it lacks caffeine but it is a new formula, natural of course, that gives you a boost without harm to _ze bebe." _HE slid it back and she caught it with a smirk, admiring his innovative tenacity.

Just then Marc ran in, placing a similar cup on her desk. "I'm sorry but I saw him come in with coffee and I know how you feel about coffee right now but-" She took the lid off of his cup and smelled it, her face immediately paling. "Willie are you..."

She shook her head of the smell. "Everyone out." They looked at her for a second and she sprung from her chair, smacking her palm on the table to make them all jump, even Claire, leaving immediately before she bolted from their view.

After being kicked out and waiting, Daniel stood outside her door for about 20 minutes, waiting to hear anything but her regurgitating whatever she had eaten that morning. Although he was confused because she didn't really have bad morning sickness early on and hadn't gotten sick in a while.

"I just...I just don't understand...She loved raspberries the other day..." Marc referenced the tea he had bought her, sitting at the vacant assistant's desk as Justin sat atop of it.

"Yeah and she had raspberry shortcake, raspberry pie, raspberry yogurt and every freaking thing you can think of it that was sweet and raspberry flavored...She ate it so much, she hates the sight of them now let alone the smell."

The door begins to creak open and Justin and Marc pretend as if they were working as Daniel opens his mouth to speak but she shakes her head no, her makeup retouched and teeth refreshed as if nothing had happened in there.

"You..." She pointed to Justin."...Go...dispose of whatever that poison is...Get rid of the smell, I don't care if you have to fumigate my office and then run and get a fresh cup of whatever it is you brought...Oh and cancel my lunch...Thanks to Marc, the sight of food makes me want to murder a small child more than a coconut-buttoned blazer."

**OoO**

"I thought I told him to CANCEL lunch."

"You did, but then I told him to reschedule your lunch appointment with me considering the small fact that you need to eat." Daniel replied assumingly, settling Izak into Willie's side of the booth.

"You know what I just realized?" She changed the subject, taking off her coat and setting it beside her as he did the same.

"Mr. an Mrs. Meade the manager wanted to make sure that you received the best service today and requested that you receive this complementary bottle of...Non-alcoholic champagne..." She smiled cornily and Wilhelmina rolled her eyes as she set it in the ice bucket. "May I offer you any appetizers-"

"We'll have one Caesar salad, a sirloin steak, rare and a petite house salad, water for everyone thank you, you can go." Wilhelmina dismissed her hurriedly, leaving the girl a little surprised as Daniel smiled sheepishly, handing off their unopened menus.

"That was unnecessary..." Daniel mumbled beneath his breath, unrolling his napkin.

"She was about to ask you for your autograph..."

"How do you-"

"She had your picture beneath the order slip-You know Daniel my supposed bitchiness is not always unprecedented." She shot back grumpily.

"Look Wils I know you don't want to be here but at least try to make the best of it-Now what was it that you realized?"

"How feminine your features are." She replied stoically only to have him look at her silently before she recanted. "Fine, fine...I realized that we never told Izak...He just thinks I'm getting fat."

Daniel chuckled. "How do you propose we break the news to him..." He questioned, looking over at Izak briefly as he toyed with his napkin.

"I don't know but I do know that York Pre-School called and they want to meet us for an interview..."

"And that is-"

"30 minutes from the house and 5 minutes from Mode."

"Good...But do you honestly think that he is ready?"

"He's a smart kid Daniel, he'll adjust."

"Mommy, what's pray-tent?" He glanced up at Wilhelmina and she sighed, running a hand down his head.

"Or maybe we should tell him now."

**OoO**

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" Daniel waited, noticing how quiet she was and the fact that when she did open her mouth, it was nothing positive.

"Why are you talking?" She snapped at him, irking his core as he got annoyed with her attitude. "Stop at the mail box."

"Please?" He spoke up, noticing that instead of asking she blatantly just demanded.

"Daniel I am not in the mood." He stopped the car and she slammed the car door behind her, coming back moments later with a single envelope. After closing the door she held it in her hand and he pointed to it.

"What is that?"

"My hand."

"No, I meant what is in your hand?"

"Paper."

"What does it say?"

"Why are you so nosey?"

"Why are you so bitchy?"

"Bi...chy...Bi-chy?!" Izak called out, not knowing nor understanding the magnitude of the words that he spoke but was well aware that his parents were not in each other's good graces. Pulling up to the house, Wilhelmina rolled her eyes with a scoff, getting out of the car hurriedly before slamming the car door.

Daniel huffed and snatched off his seat belt, running in after her angrily. "Wilhelmina what the hell is your problem?"

"You need to fire Sofia!" She yelled from the top of the stairs, serious as all get out.

"What, are you jealous now? Seriously, are you that jealous?!"

"Now you asshole, it's about the fact that I don't trust her or her husband and you need to clean up your fucking mess. You hired that whore to make me angry and now you need to fire her to make me happy."

"What the fuck-Wilhelmina she is not a whore!"

"Who the hell shows up at someone else's home for dinner with their chest looking like a breastfeeding PSA!?"

"Oh please Wilhelmina, like you always dress the wholesome part! You have on a bustier nearly every day with yourself exposed."

"Are you trying to call me a whore Daniel because Sofia-Your little girlfriend is a whore!"

"My little girlfriend?!"

"Yes your little goddamn girlfriend! You think I didn't see the way you were looking at her during the dinner? Do you think I'm stupid-huh?"

"No, I think you're crazy-borderline psychotic...PSYCHOTIC! Sofia is not my girlfriend, I am not firing her and you need to get over it!"

"Why not!?"

"What?!"

"You hired her for the wrong reasons, why won't your fire her?"

"You know what, I think you're having a fucking-Hormonal attack or something, this is insane-" HE ducked, seeing her pump come flying at him from above the balcony. "Wilhelmina you need to sto-" And the other came flying, cutting across his forehead. Blinded with pain, he turned around seeing the door open with Izak in Claire's confused arms. HE held his hand over his bleeding scratch on the side of his head. Hoping she didn't notice.

"What the hell is going on in here? Is this some kind of sick twisted kinky game or have you two really lost your mind?! You're in here about to kill each other and your son is outside wandering the icy driveway!"

"What?!" Daniel exclaimed, looking down at Izak who clutched his grandmother's hand.

"I could hear you two from the gate, practically screaming at each other!" Daniel shook his head, still holding his head.

"Mom, thank you but what are you doing here anyway?"

"Sofia just emailed me her letter of resignation."

"Okay...alright...Just give me a minute...Go...go have a drink or something I'll be back in a minute."

"I'm an alcoholic Daniel..."

"Then get some juice Mom!" He yelled back, making Izak go up the stairs and to his room as Daniel flew into their master bedroom.

"Did you blackmail her!?" Daniel whispered heinously as Wilhelmina stood in her robe across the room.

"Leave me alone."

"No, I'm talking to you!"

"I said leave me alone..." She attempted to storm passed him angrily but he caught her arm, pulling her back. "Let me go..."

"I asked you a qu-...He paused, seeing the shaken manner in which she stared at him. How moments after she had been throwing shoes at him with terror in her eyes, she stood with fear replacing it. "What's wrong..."

"Just let me go..." She pleaded, looking away and he couldn't help but see the same envelope in her hands, only unopened.

He moved to take it from her and she tried to evade him, moving it behind her and with one quick movement, he snatched it and turned around, opening it to be read. "What was done unto me shall be done unto you..." HE turned around to face her, seeing her now dialing a number. "Who are you calling?"

"My father."

**OoO**

"Are you going to tell me why you were almost mauled by Wilhelmina Slater or are you just going to continue to let me sit here and buy Izak's gifts online..." Claire spoke up calmly from behind her laptop at the kitchen island.

"Well Izak is a toy person..." Daniel replied, pacing the tiles.

"Would you stop, you're starting to make me dizzy."

"Well mom-" He lost his entire thought, seeing Wilhelmina peek her finger around the bend, motioning him to come. "One second mom..." He exited, going over to the stairs were to see her head in her hands, taking a deep breath. "What did he say?"

"Apparently...Ambrossi's family is pissed that Claire got off, no charges..."

"Well when she changed her plea, Judge Donnelley found her not-guilty..."

"And they think she should have gone away and now they're angry and he thinks...He thinks a family member sent the letter...I'm telling you Daniel, you need to fire her."

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"I...I feel like he's in on all of this."

"Who? Sofia's...husband? Wil-what?"

"His company...El Codingo...It means La Coda..."

"Willie that's a stretch-"

"Did you see the resemblance!? They look just alike..."

"Willie, I don't know what to tell you...But Sofia did resign today..."

"Oh how convenient..."

"I thought you wanted her gone?"

"You don't get it do you? These people probably want to KILL me...My life is in danger...Sofia's husband is probably somewhere in that sick and twisted family...He knows where we live Daniel...HE knows where we work...He knows what our son looks like...I'm not being crazy, I'm being cautious..."

"Wilhe-"

"Do-Please, don't touch me right now..." She pulled his hand away from her arm and trekked upstairs, leaving him there to take a breath and gather his thoughts. Think about just what kind of toll this drama was taking on his marriage.

**OoO**

That night she twisted and turned beside him only to give up completely and just turn the television on mere moments later. He watched her look for Ana Wintour's vein only this time she didn't laugh, just watched stoically. He sat up a bit beside her.

"Want me to stay up with you?"

"No, you can go to sleep." She replied coldly, turning the volume up.

"Willie don't be like that..."

"I'm not being anyway...Just wouldn't want to have a hormonal attack and sling you against the wall like Godzilla."

"Willie I didn't mean that."

"Yes you did." She sighed, turning the volume up eve further to completely ignore him.

"If it makes you feel any better, I can promise you...I have no interest in Sofia."

Wilhelmina chuckled coldly. "Really? You think I'm concerned about that human blow-up doll?"

"Well earlier you said."

"I said a lot of things Daniel...Just like you did..."

"Wil-"

"Go. To. Sleep..."

**OoO**

He had watched her get ready and leave. HE watched her ignore him completely and act as if he didn't exist, even his words being like figments of her imagination. Honestly, he didn't exactly know what he did because he was the one with the battle scars. She didn't even look twice at the red line on the side of his forehead screaming the pointy heel of Alexander McQueen's signature horn collection. Damn, he hated when designers got creative.

After he left, he finally took a breath when he heard the door close behind him only to hear it open again with her and Izak standing there staring at him. "Where's my car?" She questioned, brow up.

"It's at the dealership being detailed, I told you I called a Town Car, they should be here-any minute now." She rolled her eyes and looked at that coat rack, plunging her hands into his coat pocket and pulling out a spare key. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking your car."

"I haven't used my car since Sofia and her husband was here."

"So?"

"Why don't you just wait for the-"

"Because I don't want to...Okay?" She shut the door again, Izak following close behind her in his black wool coat, keeping warm in the January weather. Despite her anger, she still managed to put on a Slater worthy outfit complete with a Ralph Lauren Two-Tone Color Block Sheath Dress that was rendered with a soft stretch jersey, easy for strangulation. With a white boat neckline that wrapped to her back and black cap sleeves that swung around the front, it gave off this kind of flattering sheath silhouette that elegantly hugged her body without being "whoreish" or as she would say on that day, "Sofia-ish". Completing the look was a pair of Yves Saint Laurent suede pump with tonal peach topstitching and contrast black cap-toe, the toe and small cm bottom coming in a blinding white.

After Izak climbed in the back, she moved to buckle his seat belt but stopped, leaving it undone to turn the car on, letting the heat run so they wouldn't freeze on their ride over. She slid in the front seat, both of their car doors open as she reached over the steering wheel and turned the nob only to not be able to get out.

She was stuck.

Trying to manage, she was stuck behind the wheel, it's circumference trapping her with her new luggage being that damned stomach. First she cursed Daniel for sitting so close to the wheel in his car and then she called him.

_"Hello?"_

"Come here!" She snapped, exiting the conversation before she cursed him out.

He came jogging towards the car, looking into the open door, not being able to hide his smirk. "Problem?"

"I'm stuck."

"I'm sorry what?"

"I'm stuck!" She yelled, motioning at the steering wheel.

"C'mon..." He pulled at her two hands, sliding her out from beneath the confines of that damn thing. As soon as she was set free, she swatted him, irking his OCD. "OW!"

"Really? Who sits that close to their windshield?"

"I'm going to loosen the seat, don't worry...Just give me a minute..."

"What do you need?" She questioned, trailing behind him on the way back to the house.

"My coat..." HE replied, reaching in the doorway as she stood on the top step, her back to the open threshold.

"Why didn't you-" Her question was cut utterly short when she felt him pull her in the door, tugging at her arm before shutting it behind him. Breathing heavily against him, her ears rung as a deafening boom sounded from their circular driveway choking in smoke and midst. "What was-" He opened the door and the sight before them was his Mercedes Benz going up in flames, orange and red crackles consuming its black exterior and beige interior. For a second they stood stoically, shock overcoming them before Wilhelmina pulled away from him in a rage he didn't expect. "IZAK!" HE pulled her back from the flames as they heard sirens in the distance, probably because someone saw the smoke but that was not her concern. Izak. Izak was in the car. Her son was in the car. The car was on fire. The car that her son was on fire. Izak..Izak was in that car.

"Willie wait-Wait" He held her arm and she swing around, hitting him with her fist to let her go. Let her go and get her son. Let her go and save her son. "Wait!" He grabbed her hands and shook her gently, shaking her from the trance of protection she seemed to be in. HE pointed before bolting off in the direction that his finger was in. She followed him with her eyes to see him running towards a crying Izak who lay in the grass near the woods opening, holding his crimson covered knee.

She closed her eyes, replaying her actions in her head.

Put him in the car.

Go to buckle him.

Turn the heat on...

Go to buckle him

Turn the heat on...Wait...She turned the heat on, she never strapped him in nor did she close the doors...He got out...She exhaled, knowing..That he got out...But the guilt still succumbed her.

The sirens that they had heard burst through the white gate that separated their abode from the outside worlds, men in yellow suits jumping in out with hoses as the press gathered around, attempting to get in. Daniel carried Izak in his arms, covered in debris as she stood frozen, not knowing what to do.

"Is this your home?" She heard the yellow suits speaking to her but she..She couldn't say anything. Daniel just handed Izak over to the EMT who ran him to the ambulance to treat his wound.

All she could hear...All she could feel...was that letter...That...That letter. What was done unto me shall be done unto you...And she knew...That this was only the beginning.

**OoO**

She had sat silently, trying not to blame herself...Trying to get over herself...A simple day at work had been turned into one of the worst days of her life. Sitting there, watching him sip on a juice box that the nurse had given him, not a care in the world. He didn't know that he was almost taken from her. HE didn't know that if Mommy had strapped him in, he would have been gone. HE didn't know; a child's innocence still beset him.

What more could she do but sit and watch him, rub his little head, occasionally glance at his bandage-upped knee...What more could she do? She could feel guilty...And guilty she felt because she left him in the car in the first place...For the second time..Sure, the first time Claire got him but this time...IT came too close...Just too close for comfort.

She jumped, feeling two hands on her shoulders and turned around to expect one face but saw another. "You're not safe here Wanda."

She shook her head, trying not get angry. "I need...I need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

"Find out if Eduardo Amissi has any relation to...Rodrigo Ambrossi...Do that for me..."

"Do you think he did this?"

"Did what?"

"Well I talked to the fire chief and he suspects tampering...something about a gas leak, the heat in the car and a match...Basically he thinks that it was a set up."

"But no one is ever here...The last couple of people that came over were..-God dammit!" She stood up, leaving the room as to not blow up in front of Izak.

"What's going on?"

"Eduardo Amissi is married to our CFO...Daniel invited them to dinner...the guy was outside for about 5 minutes before coming inside...He was alone with our cars...Daniel hasn't used his car since..."

"And they checked your car and it was normal..."

"He...he tried to kill Daniel...He...-" She stopped, seeing Daniel coming up the corridor and he embraced her immediately, having worried all the way over.

"I'm sorry, I had to go fill out some paperwork for the fire department and they wanted a statem-" He went to pull back so that he could speak to her face to face but she remained chained around him, never letting go, never releasing him. Daniel looked up at the Senator who didn't know what to tell him. What could he tell him?

Nothing.

What could Daniel do?

Nothing.

What could Willie have done?

Nothing.

So why did they all feel so helpless? Because the world seemed to be collapsing around them and that's all they could do-

Nothing.


	34. MixUp

"Do not spill any on my head..." Daniel warned as Izak sat on his shoulder, Wilhelmina following close behind them with arguably the world's largest Teddy bear. She glanced over to the side of their house, faintly seeing the ash on its face. Despite the mason being gray and basically concealing any memory of the fire, it still chilled her core to see such things.

Izak was oblivious, indulging in ice cream that his parents had guiltily bought him as he sat on his father's shoulders, knee numbed from treatment. She left the two of them to put the ginormous teddy bear in his room; its presence courtesy of his grandmother who she swore spoiled him rotten. For a second she stood there, in his black and white room with dashes of navy blue on the walls.

She looked around at the innocence it beheld, at its indulgent nature sprawled with her input. It was, surreal really...because she almost lost him...That day...She almost lost both of them...And she didn't know how to process that. She knew how to deal with losing herself...But not...not those two...IT was if the magnitude of their importance to her had single-handedly hit her in one blow. People were usually disposable to her...But not them...Not them, she couldn't lose them...It would kill her, it would really kill her to lose them...And it made her uncomfortable.

It made her uncomfortable to know that the strings of her stability were so inevitably wrapped in their existence. Before, as long as she kept moving, she was fine but now...That all dependent on two other people...Her feelings were out there, her thoughts were out there. She had...She was no longer the woman she had once known. She was...softer...She was...nicer...In some instances...Tears were no longer a lost memory...But she didn't know if she liked that...If she was comfortable being so open.

She was slowly but surely losing that husk that made her who she used to be, that made others shudder in her presence. She was...regaining Wanda...And it seemed like at work she could be herself at all times but when she got home...She lost that cold or harsh persona, the facade that had never failed her.

"Wils..." She turned around to see him smirking.

"Why the hell are you smiling?" Who could smile at a time like this?

"This is serious...And I don't know what the hell is going on..." HE walked in the room further. "And...by the way things are going at this point...We never know how much time we have left together..."

Standing chest to chest, she shook her head, distracting herself by fumbling with the lapel of his jacket. "Don't...don't say something like that..."

"Willie I'm just being honest...And considering such, I don't want to fight with you."

"Where's Izak?"

"He finished his ice cream and fell asleep on our bed..."

"What do you want to do now?"

Immediately his kiss met her lips, his hand that reached her waist pulling her just inches closer for only a second. "Now that that is out of the way, go put on something that you don't want anymore."

"If I don't want something anymore, I just give it to Marc."

"You mean to tell me, you have no dingy clothes?"

**OoO**

"C'mon Willie, hurry up..." Daniel knocked on their bedroom door that she had locked him out of. Slowly the door creaked open but would open no more if pushed. "Wils..."

She opened the door, wearing his grey fitted t-shirt and a red pair of basketball shorts. "I look like a man."

"You look cute..."

"Puppies...Izak...Those things are cute...Not a fat pregnant woman in her husband's old workout gear...that's not cute..."

"Stop being such a kill-joy."

"What are we doing anyway?"

"I figured we needed a break so...We're going to paint..."

"Paint what?" She asked before he opened the door down the hall that had blue strips of paint, plastic on the flower and 3 paint buckets beside 3 rolling brushes. "I am not painting this room with you..."

"Yes you are..." He pulled her inside, deciding that she was going to participate to get her mind off of life whether she liked it or not.

**OoO**

A distraction. That's what they needed. That's what she needed. A distraction. Something that didn't make her recount how she almost cost her son his life. Something that didn't make him think how he hired a woman that could be in on a plan to take his life. Something that didn't make them realize what kind of hell that they were going through.

"Alexis..."

"Hell no." Wilhelmina responded immediately, shaking her head at the suggestion. "I refuse to put such a name on my child. What? So she can grow up 6 feet tall and born in the wrong body-Not!"

"Geesh...Ummm...Penelope..."

"Penelope? As in Penelope Graybridge? As in the woman second to Ana Wintour with whom I would love to have castrated?"

"Willie, Every name in the world is going to have some type of negative connotation."

"Not true..."

"Oh really?"

"Really..."

"Okay...like what?"

"Hmmmm...Scarlett..."

"Uh uh...I dated a girl name Scarlett once, she was so hot but she-" Daniel stopped, seeing the cold stare in which he was met when he turned to look at her. HE cleared his throat, recanting. "What about Nicole?"

"As in Nicolette Sheridan? The slut on Desperate Housewives? Or Nicole Richie? The witch with the small nose, you know I think she stole a pair of earrings from me once-"

"I-" Wilhelmina stopped, feeling paint hit her arm. "What the hell-Daniel watch it!"

HE smirked, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't-" Before he could finish, the entire side of his body from head to toe was covered in a deep magenta, silencing him immediately. He looked at her and she combusted into a loud laugh that he hadn't heard in the longest. Before he could even get mad that his hair was pink, her laugh, her smile...The sheer sign that she was happy brought a smile to his face.

Without a warning, he pulled her into a kiss, her not even noticing the black roller sliding up her legs and him not noticing the pink. She pulled away, running her hands through his hair. He opened his eyes to see hers, glistening softly as he held her close. "Willie wh-"

She shook her head, smiling pass her impending emotion. "I just don't...I just don't ever want to lose you..." Her thumb plumbed the apple of his cheek and he pulled her closer.

"You won't."

**OoO**

The minute Charles Slater was informed of the danger that pursued his daughter; he boarded a plane, yet not alone. He boarded this plan with a different intent than expected. Not to love specifically, but to protect. His demeanor was different. His posture was different. And his attitude had taken a complete 360, back to what he used to be. Because of the person...That boarded the plane.

A coffee house. That was more secretive. No cameras or bugged spots...The house could be bugged...So a coffee house it was, sitting impatiently in an Alexander McQueen sculpted statuesque figure, curve-contouring jacket. A classic moved for her in a vintage silhouette as well as a 1940s inspired peplum with a hounds tooth pattern that sat grey above her knee-length Lafayette 148 New York pencil skirt that was grey and black as well with a high waist, finishing off with Classic Yves Saint Laurent round-toe patent leather pump. To say the least, her outfit cost more than the establishment that she sat in.

Yet instead of seething at each person that walked by, she just sat waiting impatiently with a yearn to throw herself into work and ignore what occurred around her yet with Daniel sitting right next to her it seemed damn near impossible. Well that is until she saw her father.

She stood courteously, as did Daniel only to have him stare at them. She looked at him for a second, relishing in the hard stare he possessed in his eyes only to realize moments later that a change had occurred. HE stiffened his hand in her direction to offer a handshake and her eyes fell to it, nearly sick with disgust before returning her gaze to his stoned facade.

"Where is she?" She whispered harshly, knowing her father all too well to let a little charade fool her. As of late he would have smiled, tried to hug her even, said something...HE had truly changed yet when she saw him, all she could picture was a stony wall to large and too thick to run through.

Keeping contact, the Senator stood firm, monotonously answering her. "She's in the car..."

"I'm done." She attempted to walk passed him only to be caught by his arm. She snatched herself away from him, storming away from them both and into the streets of the city. In the combustion of people and cars, aromas filling her olfactory system mechanic, she started off down the sidewalk in a daze. Contemplation. Anger. Rage...And she didn't know why.

She didn't know why she expected any better of him. She didn't know why she actually believed that he had changed and was ready to be a decent father to a middle-aged woman. She didn't know and she felt stupid for believing such things. For allowing herself to be open to hurt and open to pain. Immediately, she composed herself, throwing on her dark cat-like Chanel sunglasses before storming back to the place where she once stood.

Knocking on the window of a gas-guzzling SUV, she laughed when she saw her face. "I don't know what little sick game you're playing here...But trust me, don't try and play it with me because whatever it is I will beat you at it and if you're lucky enough you may live to the end of it..." he moved to turn away but game back for a split second. "Just remember...luck tends not to shine on bitches like you."

The person stared coldly only to be met back her swinging hips down the busy sidewalk. A swinging sashay that tried to get its mind to wrap around the fact that Lisa was back in her life.

**OoO**

_Damn she's fast in heels! Like fast-fast! Like beat a freaking Olympian in a track race fast. It's unnatural! I can barely keep up with her by car, trying to convince her to get in after leaving the Senator to his thoughts and chasing after her only to find her halfway to the Meade building a trekking. I got out of the car to a media frenzy and of course half of the crowd were reporters asking me if there was any marital discourse and about Sofia's resignation. The other half were Wilheads...That's right...Her fans...they made a name for themselves...OF course I won't tell her that nor will I tell her that Marc is their Presidents...But back to the freaks that worship Wils, yeah...They're yelling at me for letting my pregnant wife walk 15 blocks to work on the dangerous streets of New York. Bad husband! Bad husband! It's like being scorned by deformed Gladiators__...__You know it's funny but you're afraid to laugh!_

_So I'm walking, no scratch that, I'm freaking running trying to catch up with her. We catch two elevators at the same time and the bell tolls and I step off at Mode right when she does, rounding the doughnut as our receptionist files her nails...This is not going to be pretty._

_All she does is slap the filer with the receptionist inevitably hitting herself in the nose only to hear a cold 'You're fired' from Wilhelmina...Just like that, she just totally...assaulted someone and obviously doesn't give a rat's ass that I've been following her for the last decade and a half._

_Right when she gets to the door, she slams it in my face...without a word. Don't you just love women? Hmmm? The life-freaking-givers of the world..._

_Sooooo the day carries on...It seems dull compared to what I expected. I mean, with Izak almost being killed and everything but he's spending the day with my mom...Then there's the Sofia situation...We still haven't talked about that and who the hell knows what the Senator had to say because we never and probably will never get to hear what he has to say because Willie is beyond pissed at him, But will she admit it? Hell no, because she's stubborn as hell like a damn mule...Don't...Don't tell her I said...Don't...She'll have me black-listed from every men's department in the city if she ever found out I used her and the word mule in the same sentence...You know what? I didn't even say it; hell what are you talking about? You were deaf for 5 seconds? Okay?...God, I need a therapist._

_So as I was saying, the day...So Ambrossi's family is trying to kill us, for reasons...I don't know, I have no idea...All I know is that I have the guy from Photography test eating and drinking everything for me...Marc's probably doing the same thing..He probably has been doing it for forever...As many Wilheads that are out there, Wilhelmina does have a lot of enemies...Wait...Is that why he's always in the Emergency room?_

_Okay, well back to Ambrossi and his family's weird Italian vendetta thing they have going on__...__IT needs to stop...No one...No one knows what went on in the court room but my mother...Judge Donalley, the Senator, Alexis...Lincoln...Abrossi's people and...The weird bailiff...But nothing needs to happen...because if this all blows off..Jobs will be lost and careers are at stake...This can't blow up...The slightest match can set this thing ablaze._

_And you know what's worse? I have to go to Paris on Saturday! Willie is going to have a cow...Well no..She probably won't...I'll have a cow...Because someone is trying to kill us and I'm leaving her alone..But who the hell am I kidding, she's Wilhelmina freaking Slater..You know..I heard she killed a lion...with her bare hands...Just saying, that woman's fierce._

_But if anyone is going to die, it's Alexis because it's her fault Mode France is doing so bad...She stopped caring about it and yeah I did too, but she's the oldest so it's her fault, shut up-Don't judge me._

_Speaking of Judging...Grant..Gran Shepard...That guys jaw is like a damn cinder block..I would've died if he didn't go down when I hit him because he was...bigger and...Probably stronger than me but hey-I had Tyler!...And half of the staff that Wilhelmina abuses verbally and, apparently as I witnessed today, physically. _

_I'm just saying, if he shows up again, I'm...I'm going to kill him..Tyler and I..We're going to kill him. Speaking of Tyler...Amanda has been acting really weird lately, like anytime I mention Wilhelmina she gets all antsy and...because of her I've been missing all of the doctor's appointments because she 'forgets' to put it in my book or accidently schedules a meeting on that day at the exact time...Suspicious Tannen-Sommers...Atkins...Geesh, that's a long name._

_Oh! And let's not forget Betty. I think she's lying about the whole Matt, bad-breakup deal...I think he moved to Africa and she didn't want to leave...She was fine doing tours but living there-Uh no! And so she let him go and not the way she's making it out to be, like he broke her heart and it's just all to painful to talk about because that just does not seem like the Matt I know...Or knew..._

_So I come home, long day, she left early...I come home late. The lights are off. I check on Izak, he's back form my mom's and he's asleep. I go to our room and she's up watching the September Issue for the umpteenth time and as soon as I'm convinced she hasn't seen me, her eyes meet mine and for a second...I have to admit I am scared SHITLESS...But I just stand there and her gaze drops to her hands that fiddle in her lap and her...her guard drops. _

_So that's it. Her guard..Her wall..That's for outsiders but with me...She drops it...Finally._

_So I just set my shoes down and take off my jacket and she shrugs, smirking weakly before looking up at me with tear-filled eyes. _

"You know...It's...It's not even that he's back with her...Because at this point..I could, I could care less...I just...I've felt like an orphan for what...30-odd years now...I lost my mother and my father was just a statue...But in the last couple of months I had a father...I mean...I don't need one but..."

**OoO**

_I'm struggling between this little girl and this woman...I...I am a strong woman...But I'm still female...I'm still..I'm still a girl...I still...I still have the small part of me that's like a child and...That small part loved having a father._

"I was beginning to get used to having a father and the fact that it's just done...Like that, it's hard to accept but I don't know why I'm so surprised...I mean...He's the Senator...I shouldn't...I shouldn't have gotten attached."

"Wils, he's your father..."

"No Daniel, being a father is not putting on the role when you feel like it...You either commit or you don't...And he hasn't." _He's such a softie, climbing into bed next to me as I let my hormones reign supreme in this moment. But I don't care...Who cares! Emotions are not for the spineless and weak...Public emotions are for the spineless and weak but private emotions are for those with enough intelligence to compose themselves and save it for later. That doesn't make me cold. That makes me calculated._

"You know...Sometimes I just...I just wish he'd die already." I don't know if he is able to handle that well..This side of me well but he does stiffen a bit...yet he never moves. "It's like...I'd be relieved...I'm so sick and tired of being played with that sometimes I just feel like it'd be easier if he were dead...Death is finite, I wouldn't have to deal...with this-CRAP because that's what it is...It's crap and I shouldn't have to be sitting here at near midnight contemplating the death of my father because it would be convenient for me...Ugh...I just...Maybe I just need a vacation I don't know."

"Well speaking of vacation...You just gave me an idea."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well I spoke to my freakishly large sister today and she told me that we need a trip to Paris to straighten out Mode France but now I'm thinking...It's hot there right now...The beaches are white...And who does not like hot white beaches?" Does he know what he just said or even how it sound when he says it? "Okay, well you know what I mean...What do you say?"

"I say that I don't want to be a third wheel on a boring business trip, but thank you...It was a sweet thought."

"Oh c'mon Wils!..."

"I'm sorry...Plus I'm in the middle of an issue at Mode...Maybe another time...Besides...Izak's birthday is on Saturday..."

"Oh ye-Holy shit!"

**OoO**


	35. Reworking The System

"Hello my inferior sibling." Alexis greeted with a smirk as Daniel walked down the tunnel. He glanced up at her with a cut of his eyes, telling her that he was not in the mood.

"Hello man-sister." HE responded monotonously, stopping as Amanda approached with a notepad and a bagel.

"Your 10 o'clock with Giuseppe Zanotti has been canceled and he in the next meeting he'll only talk to you if Wilhelmina sits in."

"What?" He asked, flipping through the notepad in confusion before swatting Alexis's large hand that attempted to infiltrate his breakfast.

"He feels that you are...quote unquote incompetent when it comes to the current fashion trends of today and inept when it comes to what he wants out of Meade and Mode." She stopped, looking up to him as he rolled his eyes with a sigh, tired of people looking at his stepping back from Mode and stepping up as CEO of Meade as a deem of insufficiency in the fashion world.

"What else?"

"Well the meeting has been rescheduled to the Mode Lounge at 4:30...Besides that you have a sit-in with Player, lunch with Sofia-"

"Wait, Sofia as in Sofia Verga-Our x-CFO?"

"Yes and the press is all over it...Speaking of the press you need to review a joint statement that you and Wilhelmina are making."

"Regarding?"

She stared at him for a second until he got the message and he nodded, understanding completely. "Oh...Oh, I'll do it with her after the meeting...I mean...You know, review the statement not do it...with..." He sputtered sheepishly, trying to change the way that sounded.

"Sure, we know you'll be doing both..." Amanda winked at him before strutting off and he sighed with a smile, still remembering that the atmosphere always had a way of turning a frown upside down...Well for him that was. He wasn't an intern at the mercy of Wilhelmina Slater and her heels.

"So are you going to tell me why you're such a Debbie downer this morning or do I have to beat it out of you?"

"Body of a woman, yet always a man at heart..." The two of them turned around to face the familiar face, looking at them with a curious nature as if to wonder why in the world they were infiltrating her floor and blocking the tunnel.

"Let's not talk about bodies considering the extra luggage you've been carrying around lately Willie."

Wilhelmina proceeded on through the tunnel, throwing her head over her shoulder briefly. "No problem Alexander."

Alexis pouted as Daniel laughed before remembering just why it was on her floor. Catching up with her with Alexis close behind, she turned around. "What?"

"We have an issue."

"A budget issue?"

"No."

"A money issue?"

"No."

"A Mode issue?"

"No."

"A Meade issue?"

"No."

"I don't want to know..." She dismissed him, disappearing the white door that opened to her office. Following behind her, he shook his head, knowing that if he didn't tell her now she would complain for not knowing and blame him for not informing her.

Yet before he could do so, he was struck blind when 2 large hands wrapped around the circumference of his neck and his feet no longer touched the ground as he was lifted into the air.

"Down Dwayne." He heard her speak carelessly before releasing him to the floor, gasping for air. HE looked over to the dangerous giant only to recognize his sharp bone structure and look that always said 'I don't know'

"What the hell Wilhelmina?" He questioned, walking towards her angrily only to have Dwayne hold him back from her as she stood at her desk, covered in unorganized papers. "Let go of me!" He pushed Dwayne away only to have Justin and Alexis staring at him as well. They were all staring at him, wanting to know what the problem was.

He huffed, taking Wilhelmina by the hand and rushing her into her office restroom, slamming the door. "I say again, what the hell Willie?"

"What?"

"Is that or is that not the guy you used to cheat on my dad with."

"Well if you want to get technical-"

His hand rammed into the counter, shutting down her sentence into to an angry eye-brow raise. "Dammit Willie, don't get sarcastic with me...You bitch about me hiring Sofia and yet I find you in here with your ex-booty call?"

"Unlike Sofia, he's not trying to kill us! And I swear to God, if you yell at me again I will embarrass you in front of this entire staff, I am not kidding...Calm your ass down."

HE sighed, turning around, hands on his hips angrily. "Fine...Fine, I'm sorry...Just...Why is he here?"

"I told Justin to hire someone and he didn't know what happened with Dwayne previously and hired him accidently...It's not permanent...But of course if you would have let me talk instead of trying to haul me in the restroom like a child, you would have known and wouldn't look like such an ass."

"Willie-"

"No, Daniel it's one thing to be the CEO of Meade but don't come down here on my floor throwing your ass around like some damn dog pissing on his territory. This is my magazine, this is my territory, so back the hell off and go back to your floor before I air-lift you there by way of my foot up your ass!" She snatched the door open, Alexis, Justin, Marc, Amanda, Betty, Ariel and Dwayne toppling at her feet, after having their ears pressed up against the door.

Betty shuffled to her feet, pushing up her glasses. "I told them not to do it."

"Move." She pushed through them, kicking each one angrily and intentionally as she passed. "Whoever isn't out of my office by the count of ten is getting docked the whole week's pay." They all turned to look at her, lying on their stomach's atop of each other. "9..." She whispered and they scurried off in fear, falling over each other until the office was left barren between the two of them once again.

"Why are you still here?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Haven't you said enough already?"

"I'm not going to be here for Izak's birthday..."

Her face was stone. She didn't respond, staring blankly before taking her seat behind her desk. "Is that all?"

"Your...You're not mad?"

"Of course, I'm furious but it's not my birthday you're missing...Go tell your son that you're missing his birthday."

"Willie-"

"And just for memory's sake, just what will you be doing that is so important on this obviously inferior occasion?"

"Alexis and I have to go to Paris for a Mode France emergency."

She chuckled, shuffling the papers before her. "So that's why you tried to get me to go with you...Cover up your little slip...Don't toy with me Daniel..."

"I'm not trying t-"

"Mama look!" Izak ran into the room, a white piece of copy paper clutched in his fists as he landed in her lap, smiling broadly.

"What is that?" She pointed to the boxes on his paper.

"My pwesents!" He beamed, the excitement pouring over him for his impending birthday. "And dere goes Nana...And Mawrc...Anty Mandy...Uncly Tyler...Daddy...Mommy...Awiel and ME!" Wilhelmina looked up at Daniel shortly and he sighed, his hand washing over his face before he swept Izak into his hands, sitting him on Willie's desk.

"Hey bud...What would you say...If I told you that Daddy might have to miss your party-BUT...when I get back we'll have our own party and..." Daniel froze, seeing the tears well up in his eyes. "Buddy, what's wrong?"

"You're...You're goanna miss my party...Bu-But..."

"Buddy, it's just 2 days...And as soon as I get back, me and you and mommy...we can have our own party-We can-"

"But you promised..."

"I know Bud but-"

Izak huffed, jumping off of the desk before running out of the office and to Claire's, an abode that he found effortlessly, disappearing behind her open door. Daniel turned back around, facing Wilhelmina's scowl. "Please, Wilhelmina...I don't need to be yelled at like some kid..."

"Daniel this isn't about punishment or yelling at you...Is this how you want him to remember his childhood? A bunch of broken promises?"

"IT's ONE FREAKING TIME!"

"And it only takes one time to make a goddamn pattern...I don't sympathize with you because I know what it feels like to have my father put his own interests ahead of mine...And I'll be damned if that happened to my son too." She slapped the stack of files on her desk and stormed off in the direction of Claire's office.

Knocking on the door, she peaked in to see Claire and Izak sitting on her loveseat, each on the other side as Izak sat sniffling, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, lip poke out and paper tear-stained as Claire listened empathetically to the sobbing ramblings off a three year-old.

"Can I come in?" Claire looked up, seeing Wilhelmina standing there quietly. She nodded silently and Wilhelmina approached, kneeling in front of Izak as he sat on the couch.

"Hey...Hey what are the tears for?"

"Daddy's goanna miss my party..."

"Yeah he is...But Nana's not...Ariel's not...Auntie Mandy is going to be there...Uncle Tyler...Marc...Betty...And of course I'm going to be there..."

"But he promised..."

"I know but guess what, you promised me that you'd stop hiding in my closet and where did I catch you this morning after I called your for breakfast?"

"...Your closet."

"And after you promised to eat your carrots last night where did I find them?"

"In Daddy's sock drawer..."

"Hmmm and dare I remind you of the infamous Potty Training of 2012?" She joked, earning a weak smiled from him. "See sweetie, people make promises everyday...Every second...someone in the world is making a promise and every second someone is breaking it...You just have to remember to remember what you have now...And what you know is going to happened...Like you know that the rest of us are going to be there even if Daddy can't...And you know he wants to right...right?"

"Yes..."

"Can you give mommy a hug?"

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her neck, squeezing lightly before sitting back on the black sofa. "Can I stay with Nana?"

"IF that's okay with her, I don't see why not..."

Claire shrugged and stood up, smiling. "Well I was wrong...Your maternal gene was not replaced by your bitchiness...IT was just...hiding behind it."

"Just like your beauty is still hiding behind that face we're all forced to look at...day...after day...after day...It really makes us wonder if God hates us."

"Wilhelmina get out of my office..." Claire chuckled, opening her door with a smile before the two air-kissed goodbyes. She sighed, turning to her grandson with the thought and sheer fact that this...Was an odd family...

**OoO**

"Marcy...I miss you." Amanda whined into her phone as she sat outside Daniel's office on the Executive floor.

"I miss you too...Well really I miss trading the Model's Diet Coke for Cherry Coke...But same diff." Marc sighed into his phone in the Editor's corner. "Plus its sooooo...eerie...I usually see you all day, what happened?"

"Well...I think Mommy and Daddy Meade had a mini-spazz so they're not talking to each other so he doesn't send me to Mode anymore."

"Yeah but when he did send you up here, you didn't do anything."

"And?"

"Mandy, We have to get those two talking again...Betty's idea of rebellion is buying Pasta on Taco Tuesday..."

"Awww...poor bambino...HEY-What if we set them up with that couples counselor again..."

"What do you mean again? Amanda did you trick Wilhelmina and Daniel into Couples Counseling?"

"Umm...No, of course not...I swear to God Marc, if you tell her it was me I will tell her who really broke the Chrystal Louboutin on her desk!"

"The one she fired bitchy Rachel for?"

"Hmmm mmm...Zip it Marc..."

"Fine, fine...Just set the appointment and get them together somehow...The models are beginning to feel safe here...We need to do something."

**OoO**

Daniel sat quietly in the white lounge room, finding himself in an unnecessarily large plush lounge chair that seemed to kiss your whole body if you sat in it. He would be comfortable, had it not been for Giuseppe Zanotti staring back at him in silence, clutching a black portfolio and a hard glare. They awaited Wilhelmina who, by their watches, was now 20 minutes.

Soon, she came bustling through the halls, slowing down only as she neared the door, entering gracefully with a smile as Zanotti stood immediately to greet her.

"You must excuse my tardiness, who would know Donna Karen was such a talker...The woman truly has no filter..." She joked, as he went for an air kiss as she complied before crossing over the loveseat to seat parallel from him.

"Are those my sling backs Willie?" He asked coyly as she crossed her legs at the ankle, pointing to her metallic grey-like pumps that hung to her feet, towering nearly 5 inches going on 6.

"Oh! My...They are..What a coincidence..." She chuckled and Daniel subconsciously rolled his eyes...HE hadn't been in a joint meeting with her in a long time especially considering a client in Mode. He had almost forgotten how she worked.

"They look great on you...Just be careful...From what I hear, you're carrying the next best thing in fashion."

"Yes, yes...The joys of breeding..." Zanotti laughed and Daniel cleared his throat, sitting up in the conversation.

"Can we...focus on business please?" Wilhelmina's eyes shot up and she smiled in fakery, opening up her portfolio, showing him a sample page of the ad space that he would potentially receive if he chose to advertise.

"I understand that you had previously spoken to our former CFO about the percentage..."

"Yes, she worked out an...8% deal?"

"10 pages?"

"12."

"In Mode and 10 in...Slater? Or is that still confidential?" Giuseppe looked to Daniel who looked to Wilhelmina.

"Um...We...We're just keeping quiet on that right no-" She stopped him, waving her hand at the topic. The meeting was awkward really. Mostly consisting on Wilhelmina schmoozing and Daniel having a problem with it. There was an issue on the table, an elephant in the room and they both knew it. But they both ignored it.

"Call me tomorrow." Wilhelmina nodded and Zanotti left, leaving the two of them alone awkwardly. She looked up, standing in the middle of the room as he paced the corned about to speak when he saw a familiar face.

"Can I help you?" He questioned, looking to the shorter man with a portfolio in hand, age present in his eyes.

"Wait...Aren't you the Cracker-Jack therapist that tried to get him to think that I was attracted to him?" Wilhelmina interrupted, pointing to the man.

"And I see I was correct." He smiled, sitting down on the large lounger chair. "So...What's going on?"

"Wait a minute...What are you doing here and who invited you?"

"I'm here to fix you two and I was invited by a little birdie now please take a seat, I don't have all day."

"I have better things to do."

"May I remind you as I did before, who tends to be the weaker one in the relationship." He spoke condescendingly as Daniel took a seat on the loveseat. Wilhelmina rolled her eyes, slamming her books down on the nearing coffee table.

"Fine...but I have to make a phone call first."

"About?"

"Revoking your license."

**OoO**

"From what I can see...You lashed out over the fear that Izak might turn out like you because he is already so similar to you and you don't want that do you?"

Daniel and the counselor looked to Wilhelmina and she shrugged, twisting her wedding band slowly.

"Wilhelmina if you want this to work, you're going to have to say something."

"Well I don't want to do this, so I'm not going to say anything."

"Why are you so stubborn?" Daniel questioned, sitting on the opposite side.

"Why are you such a liar?" She questioned angrily, turning to him.

"What did I lie about?"

"Hello? Izak...The party...You lied to him."

"ONCE! And I have nooooo control over it."

"You don't have to go, you decided to go...You could have done a conference OovoO call, and you've done it a million times before."

"Maybe I couldn't."

"Or maybe you didn't want to."

"What are you talking about, if I had the choice-?"

"You do have the choice, you just chose wrong!"

"Okay, okay time-time-out." He cut in, breaking the two apart, both with hotheads and puffed up chests. "I think that Wilhelmina, not only are you fearful that Izak will become you, but that Daniel will become your father...You said that your father barely spent any time with your mother yet it seems like you fear the same thing happening between you two...And you, Daniel...You want a break, I can tell...You're tired..."

"Tired of what?" Wilhelmina asked with a smirk.

"Tired of everything." The counselor responded.

Wilhelmina looked to him with a lifted brow. "Is that true?"

"Somewhat."

She smiled, chuckling a bit as she scratched at her forehead, beginning to get antsy. "You're tired?! You decided to take a Paris vacation with your he-sister because you're tired...You decided to just leave Izak with me and go away because you're tired?"

"I asked you to come with me?"

"Yeah and cancel what I have been working on for months now."

"It's just a birthday party!"

"It is HIS birthday party; you don't get to invalidate his feelings and his wants just because you have something that you need to do!"

"Wilhelmina who are we talking about?"

"US!"

"No...You're...you're talking about yourself."

"Bullshit."

"No Wilhelmina, you're pissed about your father and you're taking it out on me."

"No Daniel...I'm tired." she mocked, crossing her legs.

"Tired of what? I take care of you, I love you, I'm there for you...What else do you need?"

"What the fu- I never needed you! Sure you came along eventually but I didn't need you! It's not just about you, I'm stressing too...We live in a goddamn never-ending Law and Order episode! And to top it off I'm a medical disaster to say the least...Forgot about that didn't you? The beginning stages of heart disease? Our child who has hydrocephalus? Hmmmm? Forgot about that?"

"I know about that! But that doesn't give you the right to get angry at me for no reason."

"You piss me off!"

"You piss me off."

"So?"

"So? We were fine this morning, let's go back there."

"Well fix the issue."

"How?"

"I don't know, it's not my issue. It's not my problem."

"Fine, everybody come to Paris next week."

"What?"

"Alexis, Mom, Marc, Betty, Ariel, Amanda, Tyler, You, Izak-Everybody...We'll all go!"

"Daniel that's crazy."

"No, if it's the only way you can get over this and smile then I'll take everybody. Let's just get passed this."

She rolled her eyes and turned away. "Fine." He smirked, running his fingers up her back.

"You're so spoiled, I swear."

"I told you that I always get what I want."

"So this is what you wanted all along? All of us in Paris?"

"Maybe."

"You know I love you right?"

"Obviously..." She blinked up at him shyly. "You're still here."

He chuckled, leaning in a little to peck her lips shortly only to have her hand meet his cheek, keeping him there for a moment. Within seconds, Simon Collins found himself in a compromising position as he made up his mind to slip out of the room...Or was forced.

"Get out!" Wilhelmina demanded, falling on her back to the white couch gleefully.

But he didn't mind, knowing that he had done his job. "My work is done."

**OoO**


	36. Revelations

"Willie!" For the umpteenth time, I'm calling her name. Okay, see it's January and we're in New York and its cold and I'm in the doorway calling her name and she never responds-EVER! So while I put an end to the frostbite set on and run upstairs to see her, the door slams on her luggage ...and I..Almost...I almost let it go but then I remember the first time I scratched her luggage...She...She threw it at me, like literally picked up the damn suitcase and threw it at me.

She's already annoyed with me because I wouldn't let her take a million bags for a 3 day trip...So after a bit of threats, anger, slamming, stomping and tantrums-She settled on five...And not a million which is my idea of 17...I'm just saying, who packs a 38 pairs of shoes in fear that they may decide that a shoe didn't go with a certain outfit on the day that you pick it. A shoe...Is a shoe...Nothing more, not a person, not a being with a soul no matter how much she is convinced otherwise.

"Wils?" Up the stairs, down that long ass hallway, around the corner, open the doors and what do I see...She's asleep...again. She sleeps more in the morning than she does at night, I swear it's not normal.

"5 more minutes."

"There is no 5 more minutes that was half an hour to go...We have too much to do before the flight, come on." And she doesn't even move just sleeps...In my face...Like I don't exist. "Willie." No answer. "Willie!" Sure, now she moves but only to lay on her back and stare at me evilly, as if she's planning my decapitation in her head. "You have to get up."

"Well I can't."

"Why?" She rolls her eyes and reaches for my hands from across the room, averting to her usual tuck-and-roll solution. "And..." With a laugh, I walk over and tug at her arms, bringing her to her feet, relishing in the fact that without her stilts, she is still shorter than me.

**OoO**

"When was the last time you saw a cardiologist?"

"The first of December and I didn't even get a checkup because I walked out of the room before he had a chance to do anything." Dr. Spears nodded, pressing the back of her stethoscope to base of her back, listening intently.

"Inhale...Exhale..."

"Can I go now?"

"You're lucky I don't make you stay overnight-Your pressure is high, your breathing is irregular and I can see the distension of your Jugular which means you haven't been taking your medication."

"I have a Wintour vein!?" She shrieked, pushing him out of the way to look at the mirror trying to see what he was talking about. Her eyes were wide and distorted, eyeing herself closely.

"Wilhelmina that is not the point!"

"Don't yell at me, Smith...You're lucky I'm letting you touch me after the crap you pulled last month."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because that egg shaped thing you see out there in that waiting room, he's annoying...And he wouldn't shut up unless I saw you so here I am."

"I don't think you should fly."

"And I am out of here." She hopped off from the table, ignoring his attempt to stop her.

"Wilhelmina this is serious, you can't always do what you want to do."

She laughed, her coat swung over her arm. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"

"Yes...A woman...A pregnant woman. Wilhelmina you can't do everything that you want to do because you're currently responsible for someone else's life-What you do, affects her too."

"What am I doing? I'm not swimming the English Channel, I'm going to my kid's party."

"IN PARIS! See that's the point, you don't see what I see...All you see is a little 3 day trip for Izak but what I see-AS your doctor, is what could something that makes me regret giving you the go ahead to have another child in the first place."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not well, I'm no cardiologist but I do know you and from what I see, you're in the beginning stages of heart failure."

Her eyes squinted dangerously in his direction, her body stiffening but her face stoic. "Excuse me."

"I told you to slow down."

"You're lying."-

"And you're in denial...Now if you accept it now and let me run some tests, call our attending cardiologist and see what we can do, we may be able to reverse this BUT, if you continue to be this stubborn person that's doesn't want to listen to a damn word I have to say then your kids will just have to grow up without a mother or kid-Depending if this kills the both of you."

"But-"

"I'll give you 2 days...But on Monday morning, I need to see you in my office, first thing in the morning."

"We're supposed to come back on Tuesday."

"Well then reschedule." The door flew open and he left abruptly, having Daniel enter minutes later, checking his phone.

"Everything okay?"

She smiled falsely, feeling her eyes glisten behind the front she attempted to put up. "It's...its fine."

He never looked up, immersed in his message. "Before the flight, we might have to swing by Betty's place."

"Why?"

"Justin is having a hard time getting the go-ahead from his mom."

'"He's 20."

"And he lives at home."

**OoO**

"Willie get out of the car."

"No! This place looks like I could get mugged by the wind!"

"Wilhelmina...It's not that bad." she rolled her eyes and stepped out, deflecting the thoughts she had on her mind with the current state of the neighborhood that she stood in. She looked around, trying not to turn up her nose too much but knew that it would look better without so much light, then she wouldn't have to see everything.

"Wait..." She paused for a moment, clinging to the door of the town car cautiously.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing...Nothing...You know what I'm just going to stay here." She climbed back in, closing the door and he sighed, locking the door and jogging up her steps before knocking on the door.

"What you think you can just travel Europe with Cruella DeVille and not tell anybody!? What if she rubs off on you!?" The door swung open to Hilda and Justin arguing, Betty trying to mediate only for them to turn and see Daniel, silencing immediately.

"Hey." He waived shortly with them waiving awkwardly.

"Where's Wilhelmina?" Justin questioned.

"She's...She's in the car."

"SEE! She thinks she's too good to come in this house and you want to go spend 3 days with her."

"Because she's fashion royalty!"

"Hilda..." Daniel started. "It's not like that, she just...She's tired."

"I'm tired and I don't act like I have Carmen Miranda's hat stuck up my ass!"

"Hilda!" Betty corrected."

"Just saying..."

"You know what, I'll go talk to her." Ignacio offered before Daniel could properly warn him.

"Wait-" Before he could finish, Betty had pulled him out of the cold and into her home, Hilda slamming the door behind them.

"Well...Can I go?"

"NO!"

"Mom, I'm 20 years old."

"And you live under my roof, therefore you follow my rules."

"No, this is Papi's house and he said that I could go!"

"Hilda...Daniel began. "If you're worried about his safety, he'll be fine. Wilhelmina just needs her assistant out there because we're going to be taking care of some business."

"And why doesn't she tell me that? Tell her bougie ass to come say it to my face."

"Hilda that's his wife." Betty whispered, reminding her.

Outside, Ignacio approached the only car with tinted pitch black window's in the neighborhood and knocked on one of them , waiting patiently on the Passenger's side.

Wilhelmina cracked the window an inch. "Whatever you're selling, I don't want any."

"Good afternoon to you too."

"Do I need to call the police?"

"No, but you could let me in this car, It's freezing out here."

"It's not my fault you forgot your coat and-Do I know you?"

"Ignacio..Ignacio Suarez."

"Suarez? I take it, you're Betty's father?"

"In the flesh...But not for long..." HE joked, rubbing at his arms.

She unlocked the door and he pulled at the handle, climbing in the back with her. "Tony can you step out for a moment please."

"Ms. Slater it's less than 32 degrees out there."

"Well I said only for a moment."

He sighed and left, slamming the door behind him. Wilhelmina rolled her eyes, practically still ignoring Ignacio until she spoke. "So, how can I help you?"

"I just wanted to invite you inside."

"No, I'm fine thank you."

"Our home is probably no different than yours, there's no reason to be-" She looked at him and he recanted. "Okay, maybe our home is not the same as yours but it's friendly,-"

"It's not your home, I have no problem with your home no matter how...Lifetime Movie, the neighborhood looks...I am fine where I am."

"Well Justin needs someone in there to go to bat for him."

"Daniel is in there."

"But he needs you."

"Look, Ignacio-That is your name right? This is sweet and all-Coming to bat for your grandson but I'm not really up to talking right now."

"Something wrong?"

"Really? I don't do this."

"C'mon..I'm a stranger...I don't watch Fashion Buzz...I don't know you, and I can't judge you."

"I'd rather not."

"Fine, maybe my Hilda was right about you being cold-hearted."

"Just because I don't want to discuss the possibility of my death, doesn't mean that I'm cold-hearted." She spat back, immediately regretting it the moment it escaped her mouth.

"Are you sure?"

She sighed quietly, looking out the window. "I have congestive heart failure and knowing my history with medical issues, I really don't expect a positive outcome."

"Well...About 4 years ago, I had a heart attack...I woke up and they told me that they had performed a Quadruple Bypass...I was 66 years old, what are the odds that I'd live through that."

"And you're annoyingly persistent."

"Enough to come inside with me?"

She smiled half-heartedly.

**OoO**

See, this is what I never knew. The goodness of the human race. The pure kindness that comes without even having to know someone. Some may say that it's out-of-character for me to go with a complete stranger and talk to them but I'm changing. I have changed and when this, straight out of a comic book, man comes to my side of the car and offers his hand, I don't refuse.

Besides, I'm a little confused. Justin is a good kid, I can see that and he is also a grown man. I don't see why he has to get permission from his mother to go on a business trip with his boss. She has probably read the tabloids and assumed that I am just the Wicked Witch of the upper East Side, which I have the capacity to be but who the hell is she to judge me. Sure, I'm hard on Justin and Marc but that is because if I wasn't they would probably swing from the chandeliers with Prada ties strapped around their necks.

So when this man that I barely know from Adam offers me his hand, I accept and hold on tight because I'm not stupid-There is ice on the street and the sidewalk-I have on 6 inch heels-And my balance is that of an overweight clown who is past his prime and on a tight rope.

"Okay, Okay I'll see if I can get her!" I hear his voice past the screen door as well as a shadowy figure raising his hands as if in surrenderance with a woman slightly resembling Caesar Chavez waiving a unnaturally long nail in his direction.

"Oh." Upon seeing that I am already on my way, he extends his hand and I reach but almost slip on the ice. See, I told you that Queens is not safe, it's just a waiting booby-trap of death that I nearly stepped in had Papa Suarez not been right behind me. Damn this off-balance crap.

I can feel the glares burning into my perfectly made of skull as I step through the front door, my Valentino coat pulled snugly around me. I don't blame her if she hates me because right now, I would be jealous of me if I saw myself in this badass coat. It has this certain elegance that is almost scary in its ivory chic, an A-line ensemble that cuts off at my knees but not before its double-breasted beginnings and long sleeve dolman cuffs. Not to mention the amazing belt that eliminates any unwanted eh hmmm...weight gain. Needless to say, I look amazing even leaving out the 6 inch Michael Kors burnished leather sandal with a contrasting black platform and nude heel, topped with a duo of tan adjustable straps. Damn, I'm good!

-good...God this place looks like a snapshot out of a La Noperllera movie. Okay, away from judgment and the observation that everything in sight is less than 25 dollars...Again...No judgments...Just smile...No, don't smile, keep a hard face; the bitch doesn't like you anyway, why smile?!

"Hilda Suarez."

"Wilhelmina Slater-Uh, Justin get your things." I don't have time for formalities, I have a plane to catch and I need Justin whether she likes it or not. And he is a grown man so she needs to get over it!

"Wait-I never-"

"Excuse me, He is 20 is he not? Old enough to make his own decisions? So old that if you don't trust him to make his own decisions than that is your problem but don't punish him for living his life and your own insecurities because he has a job to do...A job that he is damn good at." Hilda closed her mouth as the room fell silent with Justin running down the stairs with his suitcase in hand. "Betty are you riding to the airport with us?"

"WE...I'm...I'M RIDING WITH YOU!?" His mouth is so wide, I could probably fit his bags in there." I tap his jaw lightly and he nearly faints. "Close your mouth dear, flies might get in." He nods wordlessly but I can tell he's frozen with the fact that I even touched him. With a smiling exit, Justin leaves as well as Betty after kissing their family goodbye. The sassy one glares at me but I don't pay her any mind and I just smile at the old man. Old, creepy, sweet man.

**OoO**

After a flight full of bickering, laughing and snoring the flight was a successful despite the Meade Jet being filled to capacity with a 'Business Trip' crew. Sure it was expected to be a peaceful trip but there were still something's that had been yet to be resolved. Such as the fact that I am yet to tell Marc that I have been speaking and seeing his ex-fiancé that jilted him at the altar. Then there's...Dwayne. Or the fact that I've been ignoring the 911 calls from my father that have been marked urgent but that I don't care about because to me he is nothing more than a scumbag that has overstayed his 15 minutes in the political spotlight. But then there is also the aspect of me lying to Daniel about what Smith said. Damn, never mind what I said about peace. This is going to be pure chaos.

First, we arrive, put our stuff in our rooms after checking in and for some reason, Alexia and Claire have rooms that are adjoin to ours. Why does God hate me? And despite hate, who in the hell convinced me to go out on the Streets of Paris with Alexis, Claire and Amanda? I don't know why but somehow Daniel got it in his head that the men needed some bonding time. Well then, why is Betty still there? Sure, she could pass as a man but still that's not fair to those who actually resemble their gender.

But anyway, here I am with Claire after Alexis and Amanda spilt to go shopping in the Luobuotin store. I don't think Amanda wanted to go, I actually think that she wanted to get out of dodge because Claire kept badgering me about going to some fancy nursery boutique and she probably couldn't deal. Yet despite how I got here, I am standing in the middle of an aisle with photographers pressed up against the windows after being restrained by Security and Dwayne but it is still annoying. Anyway, this skinny help-maid brings along this random cup of something and I refuse it because, well I'm not in the mood.

"Ohhhh, look at this." I see Claire walking over with this little pink ensemble and I snatch it from her grasps, eyeing her icily before grabbing her shoulders and pushing her in the other direction. With hushed cussing and swinging at me from behind, I find a camera free corner and she is livid.

"Before you get all blown up like a sponge in Hugh Hefner's pool, may I remind you that if we walk out of here with something pink or even look sideways at any specific color the press will be all over it and the last thing I need is Pepto-Bismol looking boxes piled on my doorstep."

"So than why are we here?"

"Because you're annoying and going along with you was easier than strangling you."

"So gender neutral?"

"Well, no green...This isn't Jon and Kate plus 8...Just...stick with white or pick out something for Izak or something?"

"Fine, but don't push me! You're man hands are very forceful."

"Shut up you old bat."

**OoO**

"So how is DJ?" Claire asked as if she had nothing more to talk about, settling into the booth beside me as we stared at Alexis and Amanda who sat across the way. She shrugged, stabbing her salad aimlessly.

"He says he's having fun with his grandparents and I'm happy, I just don't want him to...to start, you know...Having more fun without me than with me."

"Well Alexis, the boy is nearly a grown man...He has fun without you." Amanda snickered lowly, and I couldn't help but smirk, especially since it evoked a glance of disapproval from Mean ol' Mama Meade, shaking her head in disapproval. "Grow up."

"Why grow up, when you've aged enough for all of our lifetimes?" Ha, bitch! Okay, so I know what you're thinking. I thought you were being cordial with your mother-in-law. Well this is our cordial. This is a huge step-up from where we ere and sometimes we have bad days, sometimes we have good days and some days we want to kill each other. That's just how we are.

"Alright Wilhelmina, since you're so sarcastic in this topic...What about you? How is Izak?" I know she's not talking to me. I look up and see all of these blondes staring at me and for a minute, just a minute I think I've died and gone to Barbie heaven but then I see the crow's feet on Claire's face and realize, Barbie aged much more gracefully.

"Ummmm...Izak is really...attached." My little snuggle bear. Okay, don't get me wrong; I love Izak with every fiber of my being. That is my baby, no doubt about it but sometimes...Mommy needs her space.

"Is that such a bad thing?" I hear Amanda ask me and I can't help but realize the slight hint of irritation in her voice. Before I can answer, my phone rings and I pick up immediately, trying to get out of this awkward conversation.

"Hello?"

_"Mama!"_

"Izak, sweetie what's wrong?"

_"Why did you leave me?"_

"Well I'm out with your Nana and Auntie Mandy and Auntie Alex."

_"Why didn't you take me with you."_

"Well...Aren't you and Daddy having fun with the guys."

_"They stink."_

"They stink?"

_"Mama, come get me."_

"Sweetie, just try to have fun."

_"Mommy!"_

"Izak, I promise...I'll be home in 2 hours."

_"That's not good enuff."_

"Well it's going to have to be."

_"Fine."_

My only question is, how does a three year old catch an attitude? I can understand him being able to call me because I'm on speed dial on Daniel's phone and he's not stupid, he knows how to press a button even though I've seen Claire often struggle with using Daniel's phone...But I'll leave that alone for right now.

"That's what I mean, he's very...much attached."

Claire smiled as if it was a Hallmark movie. "That's sweet."

"It's sweet but I don't want it to cripple him in life...I mean, you can be only so attached your mother before you're 30 and still at home."

"That's a stretch...I don't see how a 3 year old wanting to be around his mother will turn him into a weirdo when he gets older...Children are a blessing and you make it seem like it's a burden."

We all look up in Amanda's direction, confused and surprised to her words. One, they actually sounded like an actual form of intelligence and Two, she sounds a bit hostile. Just the way she is staring at me right now, as if she is disgusted that sometimes I can't take my child ALWAAAAAYS wanting me around them.

"Amanda, you just don't understand...You don't have k-" Holy crap...I didn't want to go there, but it just slipped out. Before I knew it, she had stormed off to the bathroom and Mighty Mom and Mighty Man are staring me down like I've done something wrong.

"Wilhelmina you have got to be more sensitive to her feelings." Alexis states defensively as if I purposely tried to offend her. She was beginning to piss me off, an so I almost said something that I would have regretted, I'm sorry but don't act like I'm the devil because of it.

"Alexis, I have been sensitive to her feelings...I hid my own pregnancy for months just to spare her feelings...I lied to people to protect her from being hurt."

"Oh Wilhelmina, don't act so high and mighty like you've never lied before." This pissed me off a bit. I'm finally feeling comfortable around these bitches and now the minute I say something unintentionally harmful, they treat me like the enemy. What the hell is that supposed to mean, I know I have a past but goddamn get over it! Geeze...

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." I'm changing the subject for two reasons. I don't care anymore and Amanda is on her way back.

She sits down and stares at me for a second before speaking. "You're a bitch."

Wh-What? "Excuse me?"

"You...You just make me sooo angry...And you're a bitch...I thought I should let you know." Am I on candid camera? I know this little girl is not talking to me like she has lost all of her marbles. What the hell did I do to her to warrant her talking to me like this.

"That's my cue to leave." Without ever taking a bite from my food, I get up.

"Wait Wilh-" I can hear Claire but I no longer give a damn. See this is what happens when you open up to people. They misinterpret you, they judge you and they don't understand you. Your heart could be blue and all they see is yellow. People form so many misconstrued opinions about you when you share with them and that's why I don't do it. But today, I decided...Oh what the hell. And today I now decide...Never again.

**OoO**

Walking into this ridiculously large 2 story hotel suite, the first thing I see is Izak passed out on the couch with Marc and Tyler. My only guess is that Ariel and Betty went out or are asleep somewhere too. Right now m focus is to calm down and just forget about that awkward lunch, I don't know what the hell happened but I just know that I can't let things upset me right now or Smith will kill me. And Marc will kill me when he finds out I am seeing Smith again,Ugh my head hurts...

"Wils? What are you doing back so early?" I didn't expect to see him here so yes, I am startled to see him. My breathing is erratic because I'm angry. I'm flustered and my head is killing me...He notices this, his hand on the small of my back. "What's wrong."

"Nothing." I shook my head and lied. Why bring him into this? I don't want to start anything between the families just to cause more drama and more chaos. It'll only irritates me the more.

"Wils..." He walked walked behind me and took my coat, hanging it in the closet before turning his attention back to me as I massage m temples in the middle of the room. "What happened-Did you and my mom get into it?"

"Daniel..." Trying to get me to talk, he starts kissing the curve of my jawline, making his way to my mouth, pulling back after a couple pecks, his arms now wrapped around me and my distended area poking him in the abs to my outrage. I still haven't lost it about my weight but don't worry; I'll get there.

"IF you don't want to talk about it now, you don't have to...I'll run you a nice bath and then you can tell Me." he's so annoyingly cute. But I agree and find myself about a half an hour later in a black silk robe, rethinking the events of the day. Not much happened except that fight. And we just got here! This is Day 1...We have more days to come...I don't know what to think...I just need to relax...I know this and it is confirmed when I start feeling these random Braxton-Hicks Contraction...You know those tightening at the base at your stomach...I mean, sometimes they're painful like NOW, but other times they're pretty mild. I just need to relax...Calm I...Think about something else for a while...

"I'm worried about you..." I turn around to see Daniel standing in the doorway of the bathroom, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he leans on the doorframe. I don't know what to say to that because to be quite honest; I'm worried about me too. "I don't know what happened today but I don't want you to stress over stupid stuff...As far as my family goes, I'll handle it..The media...I'll handle it...Meade...I'll handle it...Mode...I can handle that too...I just want you to take it easy...Don't sweat the small stuff."

"Do you really want to know what happened?"

"Actually no, but I think I should considering the heavy feeling that I have of it coming back up at the next familial gathering."

I open my mouth to speak and I don't know why but I get a little emotional. I don't cry but my eyes do well up and I seriously have no idea why. Maybe it's the simple fact that just when I was beginning to feel comfortable with this family, they make me feel like this outsider or this crazy evil being...Which I have the capacity to be but you don't make a hormonal pregnant woman feel like she's a monster...I mean, I did feel bad and I was prepared to apologize but then she starts in on me, calling me a bitch...I'm her boss, not her friend...Daniel is her friend...I'm not her friend.

But then, why the hell do I feel so damn bad?

"Daniel I-" The room busts open and Amanda finds MY husband comforting HIS wife i.e. ME and she has nothing that she can say. Or so I thought. "Really Wilhelmina? Really, play the innocent victim like you didn't hurt my feelings?"

"What is she talking about?" Daniel questions and I just look at her like she is a mad woman because that is exactly what she looks like.

"Amanda, I think you should cool down..." Claire and Alex try and pull her from the doorway but she looks like she's been drinking and puts up a hard fight.

"NO! I need to talk to her!"

"I didn't do anything to you." My reply is stony and cold because...Well that's how I feel-Stony and cold.

"You didn't have to! I hate you and you didn't HAVE to do anything to me!" This is when I realize that it's not about me. It's not about my parenting skills. It's about Amanda and the tragedy she had to endure but never got to talk about. "I hate you because someone like you gets TWO freaking kids and you have the nerve to complain about one loving you too much. I had my child stolen from me and you have everything handed to you and you live this perfect life yet you have done absolutely nothing to deserve it."

"Amanda, wait a minute...I know you're drunk and angry but you can't address her like the-"

"Why are you smiling?"

She is probably referring to this smirk I have as I hold my head in my hands. This girl has no idea what I've been through and she has the nerve to judge me based on what? What she thinks she knows? What she's heard? This makes me angry...And from then on most of it is a blur.

I remember chuckling and looking up at her, not knowing what to say until the words began to spill out of my mouth. "You stupid little girl..." I don't know why I called her that but she pissed me off...Hmm...Seems like everyone was pissed that day. "You think my life is perfect? Really? When I buried my daughter last year? Or, oooh I know what's perfect; My father betrayed me for a woman he doesn't love or better yet...My daughter has a disease that can kill her...Let's see...Someone is trying to kill me and Oh no, no the best part is that I have heart failure. Yep, my time here might be running out so yes my life is damn amazing." When no one responds, I realize that they were all staring in shock. The rest of them had heard the commotion and came to see what was going on. So I realize that I just announced to everyone we know that I have heart failure and what makes it worse is...I never told Daniel to begin with. "So now you all know...Are you happy Amanda?"

"Son-of-a-bitch." I see Daniel snatch his coat from the closet and storm out of the room, leaving the rest of them to stare at me. In shock, in disbelief. But I can always count on Marc, ushering them away before it leaves the two of us. For a second he just stares in my direction, questions reflecting from the back of his mind but I say nothing and he says nothing because that is not our type of relationship.

We have the type of relationship where, when my husband does not come back that night, he spends the night with me, making sure I don't panic or get angry. We have the kind of relationship where he'll make sure I'm alright before considering his own needs. We have the kind of relationship where I can be on the verge of a nervous breakdown and he'll be the one to snatch me from the edge.

**OoO**


	37. It's My Birthday, I Can Cry If I Want To

Walking on eggshells would have been a gross understatement to describe the delicacy in which his feet graced the hardwood floors that seemed to creak with his shifting body weight. He knew that he hadn't handled it right, storming out and not returning until the afternoon of the next day. Sure, he had spent the night drinking then sleeping it off in Tyler and Amanda's room before going off to a meeting with Alexis and returning back to their room only to tip-toe with every sense of guilt that could fall upon him. But he didn't feel that bad.

They were both in the wrong. Neither of them had handled the situation correctly. Neither of them talked, they didn't communicate and they allowed their tempers to get the best of them while forgetting what the most important thing was; Their future. Rather than fighting, rather than getting angry, rather than storming off into a rage it made more sense to brainstorm than brawl, to figure it out and not fight it out.

Because it solved nothing.

His cover was soon blown when Izak caught wind of him and flashed down the stairs and crashed into his legs excitedly. Wilhelmina turned, following his footsteps to Daniel and she turned back, on the phone.

"Hey bud!" He lifted him into the air with a grin as if an airplane.

"Guess what I am?" Izak questioned as he stayed in the air, above Daniel's head.

"Hmmm A penguin?"

"Nooooo."

"A lion?"

"No."

"A cat?"

"No!" HE responded angrily, his eyes hardening with an intensity that Daniel recognized from his mother. He set him down on the floor, kneeling before him before pulling out a large lollipops, colors swirled in a mesmerizing fashion.

HE laughed, holding it out for him to take as Izak pouted sadly, teas brimming his eyes. "Happy Birthday bud."

"You 'membered?!" He swung his arms around him before detaching quickly. "How old am I?"

"4."

"You did memba!" He hugged him again before running off with the candy and into Claire's adjoining suite.

Daniel, still kneeling, looked up to see a pair of cork nude sandal pumps with a contrasting patent leather piping accentuates strap at vamp. An open toe display introduced him to, what he guessed, was a fresh pedicure before looking up further to see that they were 6 inch cork-covered spiked heels with a peach pink sole. Standing up, he realized that she was dressed and probably waiting for him in a dark pink cotton pique square neck dress with crisscross back and exposed full back that hugged her curves and bump, leaving a respectable amount to the imagination.

"You look great." He smiled sheepishly and she stared blankly at him, her perfectly set hair curling at her shoulders that never seemed to move. "Willie..." He started, realizing that she had no intention to speak first. "I know I should have come back but we...were both wrong and I say we just forget about it and focus on what's important which is you guys' health..." He expected her to storm off, tell him off, go off DO something...off but she just shrugged and kissed his cheek.

"Fine."

He looked at her, watching her walk away with only one thought. _Fine?_

**OoO**

Lights! Camera! Action! Looking out of the window, one would have guessed that they were attending the Oscars; the Grammy's not a Toddler's 4th birthday party. Paparazzi lined the streets as well as French's finest of fans with adoration for the New York native family. Village Joue Club felt the dim of the afternoon yet was highly illuminated with the flashing cameras and lights before a small red carpet that Wilhelmina and Daniel had already walked with Daniel in awe of how extravagant, over the top and Wilhelmina it was.

But the show stopper; oh the showstopper was little Izak stepping out by himself in his skinny leg jeans, pointed shoes, white V-neck and gray vest that was topped with a gray fedora and sunglasses. Yes, he was Wilhelmina Slater's child.

Inside, they all watched humorously as he posed every once in a while, handling the press well as Dwayne walked behind him to ensure that all went smoothly.

"He is sooo cute!" Claire exclaimed, watching from the monitor on the inside of the lobby.

Wilhelmina moved to slip-off but was met by Daniel's hand grabbing her arm gently. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing...Just the cake..." She smiled but he could see straight past her blinding whites as she swung her hips down the hallway and soon after Izak came barreling through the door only to run straight to Tyler who picked up immediately.

"Can I go again?! Pweasseeee!"

Daniel shrugged, taking his hat off playfully. "It's your party bud; you can do whatever you want."

They thought they had friends in America, it seemed like all of Europe and their babies were turning up at the party. They had Wilhelmina screening to make sure no one slipped through and she even let Posh's gang in but to her surprise, Paris's largest toy store was about to be packed to capacity. Taking a break, she found herself with the cake again, checking it for the umpteenth time to make sure that it was perfect only to see a hand slip out and run a finger down the side. She rolled her eyes at the hunk of frosting as his other hand met her waist slowly.

"You okay?"

"You keep asking me that." She replied, hearing the smack of his lips from him licking the icing.

"That's because your answers don't convince me."

"I don't want to ruin the party."

He shrugged, settling his chin on her shoulder, holding her waist to the tip of his fingers. "You don't seem to be enjoying yourself much anyways."

"The Senator called."

"He's been calling for days now."

"Well I finally picked up."

"And what did he say?"

"Ummm Wilhelmina" Claire peeked her head in the large kitchen. "...There is a rowdy group of toddlers about to have a massivr riot if we don't get this cake out..."

"Be out in a minute." She responded, picking up the smoother to line over Daniel's finger print.

"Hey..." He poked her back and the minute she turned around, he captured her lips in a kiss, leaving her hands to clench a cake smoother and cloth. When a soft moan escaped her, he pulled her tighter against him before hearing the metal smoother fall to the floor in a clank and feel her body surrender to his kiss. Slowly he backed her up against a counter as her hands ran up her back and through his hair roughly. Without a warning, she pulled away, breathless against this temples as a flash of worry jogged across her eyes.

"What? What happened?" She shook her head silently, holding a hand to her expanded mid-section which scared the hell out of him. "Willie?" She didn't respond, her eyes shut as she held her hands at the base her stomach as if to breathe through a pain. Without hesitation and he knowledge, he lifted her onto the counter in worry. He pressed a hand to her stomach in curiosity since she wasn't saying anything. "Why are you so tight?" She sighed heavily, still holding on despite being quickly lifted onto a higher surface.

"It was just a contraction, I'm fine...IT just caught me off guard, I'm fine Daniel really."

"Fine? Wils you can't say the word fine and contraction in the same sentence at only 6 months pregnant. I have half a mind to call Smith."

"Daniel, it's not that serious, really I-"

"Hey what's the holdup?" Claire questioned, walking in to see Wilhelmina sitting on the counter, palms held against her stomach as Daniel paced sporadically. "Something wrong?"

"N-"

"She's having contractions."

"I am not-I am not having contractions, I had one..okay two but that's fine...It's normal as long as they're not terribly painful." She shook her head, moving to get down only to find Daniel lifting her down like a bodyguard. "C'mon, we have a toddler terror going on out there, we need to move."

"Are you alright?" Claire questioned and Wilhelmina nodded, motioning for Daniel to get the cake. "I am absolutely fine, your son is just overreacting."

"Wilhelmina."

"Just get the cake." He huffed and got behind the large white and red cake that had seemingly more tiers than a wedding cake and a large shrine like base and top dedicated to Izak's idol; Elmo.

They sang, they smiled, and they blew out candles. She stood back and watched as Daniel knelt beside Izak and gave him the personal cake that had been made for him. He took a big hunk and Izak reached for a fork only to have Daniel laugh, taking it away.

"Dig in; Get dirty bud." Izak looked back to Wilhelmina and Daniel motioned for her to do it to.

"Daniel this is vintage!" She whispered, referencing her outfit.

He snarled playfully and she came over, grabbing his hand as to kneel down on his other side. Suddenly, a smirk graced her face and she leaned into Izak, whispering softly before the same mischievous smirk came upon his face and Daniel looked at them as a couple chuckled in the crowd. "Alright...On the count of 1...2...3..." Daniel waited for her and Izak to reach their hands in his private cake but was only met with the cooling sensation on his face; Stinging in his eyes, and laughter bursting from his abdomen. Izak and Wilhelmina as well as everyone collapsed in laughter as the cake slid down Daniel's face hysterically with Justin and Betty snapping away.

Wiping the Icing from his eyes Daniel looked to Wilhelmina with a smile, shrugging as she grinned in triumph. "Honey give me a hug..."

Her face dropped as he inched towards her and each fashion Diva in the room gasped in pain as her Vintage collection dress was soon covered in cake and icing. For a moment, everyone was silent. those who just knew her persona expected her to fly into a rage. Those who thought they were her friends expected her to push him off of her and skin him like a rabbit. Those who knew her still expected her to get angry. But he, he expected her to do exactly what she did.

Her eyes blinked up at him with a twinkle in her blue eyes that seemed to mesmerize him. And for a second, in that second it was as if he remembered why. She remembered how. They remembered what. Memories came flushing back to them and it was as if in that moment, all the fighting, all the drama, all the happenings. Meant nothing. For one time, in a long time...IT was just the two of them.

She brushed his icing covered cheek softly and arched a brow with a smirk before uttering a statement that made them all laugh. "You owe me 3 thousand dollars."

**OoO**

After Izak collapsed in the toddler bed in the next room, crashing from a sugar high and both of them taking hour long showers after being covered in dried icing it seemed like things were settling down. He walked out into the hotel bedroom to her looking over Mode cautiously, a hand resting on her belly and the other thumbing through the post-it noted pages. He flipped back the covers, climbing in next to her before placing his hand over hers, making her look up with a smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better...Much better, see I told you it was nothing to worry about."

"I know but we can never be too careful...Especially considering the news as of late."

She sighed, closing the book on her finger as if to hold her spot. "Speaking of such, I spoke to Smith when you were in the shower and he gave me a run-down of what the next 6 weeks will be like."

"And what was that?"

"Well I have to walk for thirty minutes every day, basically eat like a damn rabbit and drastically decrease the amount of stress in my life which means that when my father calls, you pick up because I have been ordered not to hear any news on the Ambrossi case. I think it's stupid but he seems to think that it will work."

"Reverse the diagnosis?"

"If I do it right."

"Well I'll...I'll do it with you baby..."

"Baby? What do you want?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "For you to be healthy...And if that means revamping our lives than that's just how it's going to have to be."

She smiled half-heartedly before leaning in to kiss him shortly, pulling away only to rest her head on his chest. "You see what I don't get is for 20 years I ate nothing..Really...How the hell did I get heart disease when all I did was exercise?"

"Well does it run in your family?"

"I may...I mean, even Izak's heart beat was irregular when he was born, The Senator has high blood pressure, my mother...She had coronary artery disease, my grandmother-"

"Wils it runs in your family..." he kissed her forehead with a chuckle and she shrugged.

"I still have to tell Marc that I talked to Smith."

"Don't worry about that."

"Bu-"

"Wils."

"Daniel."

"Yes?"

"Where were you last night?" He was silent, noting the sense of innocence that flashed in her voice despite the strong presence she was attempting to keep. There was a sense of vulnerability there, the feeling that she trusted him but didn't trust his past.

"I went down to the Pub across the street, I got wasted, slept it off on the couch in Tyler's room and went to a meeting with Alexis."

She nodded softly, throwing her other arm around him. "Daniel."

"Hmmm?"

"I think you should know something about me."

HE sat up a bit, careful not to move her though. "What's that?"

"If you ever cheat on me...I swear to God, I will kill you." The vulnerability was gone, the innocence; vanished. With that replaced the vixen that he once knew and was quite aware would have no problem resurfacing if needed. He had his Wils, the woman that he loved...But was conscious that Wilhelmina was still dormant in her somewhere.

She had her Daniel, the man that she loved...But was conscious that Danny was still dormant in him somewhere.

And sometimes...It scared the hell out of them.

_2 Chapters Left :) Read & Review!_

_ ** -NWJ**_


	38. The Chameleon Man

_A/N: Welcome to Pretty Willie Weekend! Lol This is the beginning of the end guys….After this there is only one more chapter and that will be posted on Sunday, no excuses. Any readers, please review and pay your respects hahaha jk but do review if you can…This has been a great journey and a great show of support from those who are able to and—Well let me not keep you from reading…I'll give my sob speech in the last chapter lol. Read and Review! Enjoy! =D_

6 weeks. 6 weeks were they given to see an improvement in her health. It was like a test that was black and white. You either pass or fail, there is no gray area, there is no 'C' average. IT was made clear to her every time she saw Smith, which was now every week due to the seriousness of her complications. But the weeks were flying by yet not without hassle. Daniel had to deal with the fact that Dwayne was going to be around because that was his job and he just had to put up with anytime he watched TV and saw Wilhelmina on Fashion Buzz and Dwayne guiding her through the crowd, it hit a nerve but he couldn't afford to think like that. Think in immaturity rather than the bigger picture which was that he was, nevertheless, doing his job.

Though he was about to bust, with the Senator now calling him to tell him about all of the updates about Amissi. About how he suddenly disappeared. About how they can't find him or Sofia. Of how there was suddenly no record of him. Of how they could trace the bomb placed in his car to Sofia's husband but that was it. They were stagnant. They had no more leads and were just left to analyze Sofia's old files. But Willie knew none of this, she was in the dark and it showed. With each week, her pressure was lowering and her tests were coming closer to the reigns. And with that, he knew that he couldn't tell her.

Her office had become a no stress-zone with Justin becoming her own miniature pit-bull for anyone who dared to try and swing any drama her way. He was not having it nor was he willing to tolerate it. Any unruly designer was turned away and highly chaotic situations were supposed to be kept quiet but that spoke nothing to what she found out because, as with Marc, he melted when met with her patented Slater Glare. She knew just how to get him to cough up all the details when she felt like it but that was beginning to come far and few between.

But that didn't mean that things were perfect. She was sneaking around to see her own doctor. Amanda was avoiding her boss' wife which was hard to do seeming how he was almost always spending his time down at Mode following Wilhelmina around like a magnet, never letting her out of his sight unless he absolutely had to. The Amissi case was still rumbling and Grant Shepard still seemed to linger in his thoughts along with that last night in Paris and her mysterious words to him.

But currently, a month into their regime and Wilhelmina still loathed the entire idea and did little to nothing to hide her disdain. That day however was special, their anniversary. She was awoken to soft kisses in her neck that trailed down her body only to be told that they still had to do their walk. He was determined to have everything running smoothly, never diverging from their plan. He refused to feed her until she walked, which just sparked her ire after expecting breakfast in bed but knew that had she eaten beforehand, she would have fallen right back to sleep.

So this time, in Central Park, they walked and halfway through they picked up with a light jog that Wilhelmina soon ceased 2 minutes in, surprised that she even lasted that long. Daniel turned back, not feeling her beside him to see that she was bent over, catching her breath. He ran back, half chuckling at her before she looked up in a yellow fitted track jacket and black skinny leg pants. "I hate you so much right now."

He laughed and handed her a bottle of water from a tool-belt like thing around his waist. She rolled her eyes at it, now growing to detest it. "You are not Tim Allen."

HE looked down, seeing Bayer Aspirin, Advil, a mini heating pad, water, an asthma pump, a PDA, a blackberry and his iPhone. "I feel like it." She shook her head and chucked the bottle in the trash can beside them. "Did you finish that whole bottle?" She nodded and he shook his head, taking her hand in his as they continue on the sidewalk at a normal pace. "Oh no, not again...We're going back home."

"Why?"

"Because I know you and in about 10 minutes you're going to start bitching about how you have to pee and that you're not a Flintstone and you don't do public restrooms and then you're going to hit me for letting you drink a whole bottle of water when your bladder is the size of a pea-plant and then you're going to hit me again because it's qoute-unqoute 'my oversized child that is taking residence in your womb and sitting on your bladder' and then I'm going to have to get a cab just to get up 5 blocks to get you home so you can pee like once again quote unquote 'a decent human being'."

She perched her lips, squinting a bit as he looked at her with confidence of his assertion. After 10 seconds of staring she softened and kissed his cheek. "Ahh, you know me so well." He grinned, returning her peck with a tender capture of her lips that stopped her in her tracks, feeling his arms wrap around her almost forgetting that they were in a public place. He recoiled, pulling away slowly upon hearing the clicking of cameras in the distance. But he looked into her eyes and saw the yearn for more than they had shared in that moment and he looked around.

"How far are we from home?" She inquired, feeling him place discreet kisses on the delicate skin of her neck, forcing her to keep her composure in front of the gawking paparazzi.

"15 minutes, why?"

She dug her nails into his back, ceasing his tease immediately. "We may have to catch that cab anyway."

**OoO**

Seeing Daniel Meade on the Mode floor had become a habit in the past month with him checking in on her at every moment he got. Sure it was sweet but at times she had Justin tell him that she was out while she hid in her bathroom to maintain her sanity. Yet that day when she saw a large bouquet of red roses walking above black dress pants she smiled to see him coming around the bend and straight to her office before placing them in front of her desk. "Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Anniversary."

"Is this my present?"

"No, you will get your present at dinner tonight."

"Is this something that I can remember or wear?" She smirked at the options and he made his way around her desk.

"Maybe both...Depending on what time you get home..."

"I can leave right now..."She offered humorously and he chuckled, plucking a rose from the batch.

"I have a meeting at Chateau in 20 minutes, but I should be back in an hour or so."

"Isn't that about a block away?"

"Yeah so I'm gonna walk, can't hurt to get in some extra exercise."

"True."

"Oh, and I left Justin with your menu today so no trying to trick him into buying you a fillet minion."

"One time!"

"Willie, 5 times in one week does not count as once."

**OoO**

The Unexpected. The unpredicted. The unthinkable. He didn't expect it. He didn't predict it. He didn't think about it. It just happened. He was just walking across the street to go to Chateau. He didn't see the car. The crosswalk said walk. The light was red. He was in the pedestrian lane. But he did see, out the corner of his eye, Amissi in the driver's seat of an SUV. He did hear the brakes squeal as he pressed hard on the gas. He saw the murderous look on eyes. And he felt the cold knock of its metal bumper into his flesh.

And the last thought that he had, was the long forgotten letter.

_What was done unto me; shall be done unto you._

**OoO**

Picking up the phone, Claire didn't know what to expect only to freeze a few feet from the conference room where Wilhelmina was handling a couple of advertisers. She was briefed on the stress plan they had for Wilhelmina and knew that Daniel had instructed any emergency to first be directed to her. But when she picked up the phone, never had she expected it to be concerning him.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to dash out. She wanted to cry. But she couldn't. She had to be the matriarch. She had to be the strong one. She had to shut off the electricity in Wilhelmina's office. She had to direct all calls to the receptionist desk. She had to call them all into her office with assurance that Wilhelmina would be tied up for a least 20 minutes more in the conference room and no one would dare bother her especially since they were to stay clear of her office.

Betty, Amanda, Marc, Justin and Ariel stood before her in oblivion as her eyes became glassy with fear and her hands trembled, only to worry them the more.

"Mrs. Meade what's wrong, why are we here?" Betty questioned from the couch.

"Yeah, I had a meet-" Marc's sentence was cut short when she began speaking out of the blue.

"What I say to you does not leave this office under any circumstances...This will be all over the news if it leaks and probably already has. And whatever you do, do not tell Wilhelmina...Do you understand me?"

"Claire you're scaring me..." Amanda commented, noting the serious look in the woman's eyes.

"I am not playing...Do not tell Wilhelmina, even if she threatens to hang you upside down and beat you with a spike covered bat...You come see me and make sure she doesn't get any farther than these offices...Understood?"

They all nodded and she sighed, covering her mouth momentarily as she attempted to calm down and succeeded, taking her hype down. "There's been an accident..."

**OoO**

They all stood mysteriously outside of her office, watching as she dialed his number repeatedly after 2 hours passing the time he said that he would be back. Eventually she looked up to see them staring at her and she got up from her desk, prompting them to panic and fly to their desks, dispersing to leave only Claire standing.

Wilhelmina walked out slowly and suspiciously, hand thrown across her stomach and the other pressing buttons frantically on her Blackberry before looking up at Claire. "Have you seen Daniel?"

"No, why? Is there something wrong?"

"Uhh..." She opened her mouth to speak but shook her head, choosing to remain silent.

"Wilhelmina?" Claire prompted, trying her best not to crack as the eyeballs of the Editor's and assistants blared in to her back.

"I was just going to tell him that I gonna head home early."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine; I mean...I just have this weird anxious feeling..." Her eye's met with her mother-in-law's for a moment. "It's just unsettling to me and I'd rather be home...Besides the issue is closed..." She shook her head again, stroking her distended abdomen subconsciously as she texted his phone only to get no response. She didn't know why but it was the same feeling she had before. The same feeling she had when Nico died. The same anxiety. The same feeling. She didn't know why. And she didn't know what. But something was about to happen...Or had happened.

"I'm sure it's nothing; I have to finish the letter from the Editor anyway..." She shrugged and turned back to her office, closing the door behind her only to have all of them sigh a breath of release. They got up and stood beside Claire, not knowing what to do. If they should tell her or not.

"We should tell her..." Betty chimed in immediately with the rest of them not knowing what to do.

"Tell me what?" Patented Slater tactic, closing the door and creaking it back open moments later. She walked out stalkingly with them backing up from her even though she was a good measure away. "I said...Tell me what?"

She searched their eyes and found something familiar; fear. But not the same type of fear. The kind of fear that is fearful of fear. The confused fear. A worrisome fear. A fear that scared her too. Her eyes shot in Justin's direction and then to Marc. "Do you know where he is?" Her brows scrunched up and she slammed the phone down on Justin's desk, making them all jump, including Claire. "What the hell is going on?"

"Wilhelm-"

"I said-WHAT THE HELL IG GOING ON!?" The Mode offices went quiet, silence reigning with only a pin-drop to be heard as her eyes hardened with anger. Every eye in the office was on her and she quite frankly, didn't give a damn.

"Wilhelmina there was an accident..."

That's all she needed to here before she swung her hips back to her office and emerged within 30 seconds in a coat and a snarl. "Where?"

"Wilhelina-"

"Where!?"

"Lenox Hill..."

And she was gone.

**OoO**

They had followed her there, sitting in the waiting room with her only to have her pace the marble floors having not seen one single doctor since being there. They didn't know what to say to her nor how to behave. All they knew was that she was angry, more than angry, livid.

"Willie maybe you should sit d-..."Marc's voice trailed off into a soft whisper when she shot him back with a defying glare. He bowed his head, knowing that she was royally pissed with him for letting her be in the dark like that.

Even when Claire moved to grab her arm, she jerked away. "Don't...touch me." With a hiss she responded and only when she saw a white coat, did she look up.

"Wilhelmina what are you doing here?"

"Smith?"

Marc froze, hiding his face behind Amanda's purse as Dr. Smith surveyed the waiting Modies. "What's going on?" He questioned.

"I have no idea, it's Daniel and some car accident and nobody is telling me anything."

"That's because if Daniel found out we were stressing you out, he would wake up and kill us all!" Amanda mumbled.

"Wake up?" Willie spun around, turning her attention to Claire and Amanda. "Are you trying to say that he's not conscious yet?"

"Wilhelmina they were just trying to follow the stress plan-"

"Fuck the stress plan! Okay?! Fuck it, I don't give a damn, all I fucking want is to see my goddamn husband or for someone with a damn degree to tell me what the hell is going on!" They were all silent, not knowing how to respond, if they should respond, or if they were all bound to die in the next couple of moments.

"Hey, I got here as soon as I could..." Tyler waltzed up, oblivious to the tension as he gave Amanda a light side hug, looking around.

"Great, where's Izak?" Wilhelmina questioned softly.

"I went by the preschool and they said that one of his parents picked him up."

They all froze as Wilhelmina's eyes hardened instantly, her fist clenching at the side of the wall so much so, chips of white began to litter the bottom of her dress. Composure. She attempted to keep but she...her hands they trembled, her face, it reddened...The lift of her eyes twitched ever so lightly as if she was a ticking time bomb that was just waiting patiently to explode.

"Why...Why would I send you to go get him...if I already had him?!" She spoke lowly in a harsh tone that nearly made Tyler want to crawl in a hole and suck his thumb.

"Oh." He uttered in a whisper."

"OH!? Is that all you have to say? Where the hell is my son?!"

"They all stood up and Amanda blocked Wilhelmina's way to him as if to protect him yet she didn't know why.

"Wilhelmina it's not Tyler's fault!"

She laughed gingerly, her eyes never leaving Tyler's. "Of course your right; it's mine. I should have never sent a fool to do an idiot's job." She jabbed angrily, rubbing her temples before closing her eyes with regret. "Someone call the police..."

"Willie they're already here..."

She opened her eyes only to see two suited up detectives coming her way and prayed to God that she could tame herself without biting their head off too. She had too much on her plate to have a criminal record too.

**OoO**

"You caught the person that did this to him? Already?" She questioned, now sitting in an arm chair in a separate waiting room.

"Yes mam', Eduardo Amissi...He is being processed and in custody as we speak. And you don't have to worry about him terrorizing your family again; he confessed to a number of crimes...He'll be going away for a long time."

"A number of crimes?"

"Well...Attempted bombing...Attempted murder...Identity theft...Falsifying government documents..."

"Identity theft?"

"Yes, his real name is Rodrigo Ambrossi...He even went as far as to take voice lessons to manipulate his accent so that you or anyone else from his past would not recognize him..."

She shook her head, holding her palm at her forehead as she stopped him, having to process everything that she was hearing. How the scent of the La coda on his body was not a figment of her imagination. How someone actually has a serious vendetta against her family. And that it all ends here.

"What about his wife Sofia?"

"Uhhh...He's not married, but he does have an accomplice name Sofia; they're cousinsand she is in custody as well. They were found together at the Four Seasons and the money that they were using was being siphoned out of the Meade Publishing Private Sector account. The biggest withdrawal was made yesterday which left the account virtually empty...I'm guessing she had access to the accounts after being your CFO. We do recommend that you suspend spending momentarily so that our CSI unit can begin to separate the funds and deposit it back into your accounts."

Wilhelmina nodded numbly, sitting up as a throbbing headache began to assault her temples, the information being too much for her to bare and too much for her to fathom... "Okay." Was all she said, not even in the mood to fight anymore? The police were looking for her son and her husband was in a hospital bed down the hall. What was the point?!

"One more thing...We debated telling you this but felt that you deserved to know." She looked up, wondering what more could she be told that she didn't suspect or could even handle.

"Mr. Ambrossi also confessed to...shooting someone in the side of their head, then wiping down the gun and pressing their fingerprints to the trigger to make it seem like they committed suicide. We reviewed the autopsy results and found that the gunshot wound was on the right side of her head but the report says that she was left handed, making it a slim possibility for that to have been a self-inflicted wound."

What could she say? How could she feel? How could she respond? Her body wanted to slink from the chair like silly putty and roll under the table, hiding from the world. She wanted to climb in her bed and lay there, allowing the coolness of the sheets to lie contrast against her warm skin in silence. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to mourn her daughter all over again. She had to deal with the fact that her daughter didn't just check-out of life. She didn't just give up and die. Someone snatched away her choices. Someone chose for her. And that...that alone killed her on the inside.

"You...You figured all of this out today?" She asked in a whisper.

"Uhh no mam' actually we've been working with Senator Slater for a number of months trying to piece together the actual details of the incident. It just so happen to come together today..."

"I tried to call you and tell you but you never picked up the phone..." She peered out against the wall to see the Senator coming down the hall as the detectives dismissed themselves from the premise. He took a light seat on that table she so desperately wanted to climb beneath, laying a hand on her knee as if to make her look at him but she didn't budge, looking away as she held herself together. "You know that she and I are not together, right?"

"Then why did you-"

"I was in the middle of the re-investigation and she was trying to get me to sign over 70% of my life savings and real estate in our divorce or she would pull the curtain on what we were doing and if Ambrossi found out, he would have fled...I had to romance her a little, get her drunk maybe...But I got her to sign the papers which honored our original pre-nup."

"Wilhelmina can I speak to you for a minute?" Alexis questioned, just getting there. Wilhelmina got up and met her in the adjoining hallway; leaving her father without a response.

"What is it Alexis?"

"I just wanted you to know that Mom and I decided that it would be best if I take over Meade while Daniel is...incapacitated."

"Alexis, you forfeited your shares of this company almost 5 years ago, you can't just waltz in here and act like you didn't bow out of this show."

"Wilhelmina it isn't about shares or power right now. This is not a manipulating tactic on my part...It's a 'who else is going to do it' move. You? With all you have going on? You're lucky you're still breathing...I've got this, let me handle it...Trust someone other than yourself for once in your Disney movie gone wrong life."

Wilhelmina rolled her eyes, her hand washing down her face before she walked off. "Fine."

**OoO**

"Willie, we searched the whole house and we didn't find him. The police have issued an amber alert and they told us that for now, all we can do is sit still and wait." Marc talked as she shot down the tunnel of Mode, looking in every nook and cranny.

"I'm not doing that...You two..." She pointed to Marc and Betty. "Betty go check Daniel's office and Marc, go on my computer and shoot an email to Airport Authority at JFK and LaGuardia...Send them Izak's picture and make sure it goes to Brian Gallop...Tell him it's from Wilhelmina Slater..Make sure to mention my name...Oh and call to see if Daniel is awake...If he is, see if he's lucid and confirm that you have the right person, even if you have to go back down to the hospital."

Marc and Betty nodded and scurried off as Wilhelmina wandered off into the closet. Almost missed by the piles of boxes in front of it, she noticed that one of the shoe cases was diagonal and pushing on it; realized that it was the door to the love dungeon of Fey Summer. Oh, how she knew about this room and the numerous sexual trysts that she had encountered...And not only with Daniel.

Walking in, it looks as velvet and Fey as ever, never changing despite the numerous passersby. Though something was out of the ordinary...Fey never kept a treasure chest by the bed...Nor was there ever a piece of paper...A blank piece of paper on top of it. Letting curiosity get the best of her, she unlatched the chest only to see her little boy locked in the fetal position, his eyes closed. Immediately, her hand went to feel for his pulse which was steady and still there. With a sigh of relief, she picked him up and his eyes slowly opened upon seeing her before laying his head on her shoulder sleepily. "Tired Mama..." He mumbled and she nodded, standing up with him still on her shoulder despite the struggle of how heavy he was.

Turning around she was met by that dark olive skin. A jet black mane that was planted greasily on his head and a smug smile that she would never forget. The only sound that was heard was that of his hands clapping together, making a repetitive and resounding eerie presence. "Congratulations...You figured it out." She stopped in her tracks, completely confused as to why Rodrigo Ambrossi was standing before her. He was supposed to be in custody. "Don't you find it ironic how it all ends here...The place where you invited me into your world? The place where you used me as your sex toy for your own personal gain with Bradford...Who would have thought, huh?" His voice was surprisingly Western, not an ounce of Hispanic influence to be found. All she could think was that must have been one hell of a voice teacher.

She pulls Izak close to her and he shakes his head. "Don't worry, I don't want the boy...He's probably going to sleep for the next of the day though...I slipped him a little Nyquil, such an animated kid..._Mommy, Mommy, I want Mommy..._It was a bit distracting."

"You sick Son of a bitch."

"Flattery will help you none in this situation love." He stalked closer. "Now someone will walk out of here...And someone will not...And I don't think it will be the person that manipulated my emotions,...Manipulated other people…."He chuckled. "You are such a vindictive bitch. You did anything to get ahead, not caring who you hurt or who you step on. IT was always about Wilhelmina Slater!...But no one ever had the gall to tell you did they? No one ever made you pay for what you did...Until now..." Slowly, she saw the outline of a gun in his pocket as his hand inched that way. "Your life this past year has been so miserable hasn't it? What with the murder charges, the sexual harassment charges, and the rape...Oh that was fun, just like old times. "He smiled heinously, thinking fondly over the cool October night." Oh, and don't forget your heart attack experience and your daughter's suicide...or murder, whichever helps you to sleep at night...Your father flip flopping between lives...Oh and congratulations on the Hydrocephalus baby girl, too bad you'll never get to see her..." He finally reveals his weapon as Wilhelmina sets Izak down, pressing him by his torso to her legs as to keep him as close as possible. "But like I said...One of us isn't walking out of here tonight."

She couldn't panic...Not with Izak staring down the barrel of an item he didn't even know the definition of. Slowly, she took her fingers and slid them down his eyelids, closing them to shield his eyesight. Before closing her own eyes though, something caught her attention. The Orchid camera. It responded, to sudden movements, like clapping and turned on immediately. It was hooked up to her computer and as soon as it turned on, a screen displayed on her computer what the camera was seeing….. Marc and Daniel were on her computer. She sighed and clapped swiftly while Ambrossi looked at her questionably.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"...A bug..."

The corner of her eye moved to see the orchid slowly shifting in their direction, focusing on her and Rodrigo.

**OoO**

"Marc, what is going on?"

"Willie, doesn't want me to worry you in your condition."

"Marc, I'm not the pregnant one, my arm is broken-So what the hell is going on?" Daniel questioned as Marc settled the computer on his lap. "Just tell me if this is Brian Gallop..." He moved the cursor to click on his picture but before he could do so, an image that quickly became animated popped up on the screen.

Daniel squinted passed the bruises on the side of his eyebrow. All he could see is Wilhelmina's back with Rodrigo Ambrossi pointing a gun in her direction and her pressing Izak closer to her. "Is that...IS that Wilhelmina!?"

"No, Wilhelmina does not look like that-She's soooo gonna be insulted when I tell her that yo-" HE was silenced when he finally took the time to look and see what he was talking about. "Oh my-"

"Shut up!" Daniel hushed him, hearing her voice.

_"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried."_

"Is that the rosary?" Marc questioned softly.

Daniel was silent, remembering that the last time he attempted to say the rosary to her, he thought that she was going to die. She was sending him a message. She was communicating with him. She was telling him that she though that she was going to die. She was saying goodbye.

"Marc call the police."

"Now?"

"NOW!"

**OoO**

"-He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in th-"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I believe in the-"

"Stop it! Stop talking!"

I believe in the Holy Spirit-"

"Shut up! Do you think a little Jesus is going to make me change my mind?! This isn't hard Wilhelmina, I've done harder things. What? to fake my death all I needed was a suicidal person that looked just like me and a lazy police district where I knew that if I died, they wouldn't bother to double check the DNA...All I needed to do is give him my wallet and Driver's license...What I didn't count on it was for your booze-bag mother-in-law to be the one to run me over..I wasn't looking for someone in particular but the fact that it was her was just the icing on the cake...But as well all know..The NYPD is not that smart...For example, they said that I was in custody and yet here I am...Not that hard."

"Our father who art in heaven-" She was never a religious person. Anyone who thought that they knew her would have found it out of character had they been told that when faced with a gun, instead of risking her life to fight them, she just repeated the rosary. But the thing about Wilhelmina Slater was that she was completely unpredictable. You never knew that she would get into, or what would even happen to her. Even she didn't know. But right then, she didn't know what to do. Who to turn to. She couldn't do just anything with her son there, watching her. She knew that his eyes were open, so stubborn just like her.

Who could she turn to? Herself? What could she do? She turned to the person that she turned to the least...And hoped that her years of evil doings didn't balance out her outcome in this situation.

But of course, she was dealing with Rodrigo Ambrossi.

"I told you that I would get my revenge...That I would get you back one day….That I would bring you down…The great Wilhelmina Slater… And today...is that day."

And a gun went off.


	39. Pretty Willie

_**RE-**__**POST!: **_

_**I RECEIVED MESSAGES SAYING THAT SOME DID NOT RECEIVE THE EMAIL CONFIRMING THE UPDATE SO I RE-POSTED JUST IN CASE**_

_Here it is!_

**Part I**

_6 weeks later_

"You are changing your plea today, I understand. You understand, of course, that you are entitled to a jury trial in this matter?"

"Yes, Your Honor.

"Have there been any promises of any type or nature that have led to you to change your plea or are you doing so voluntarily?"

"Yes, Your Honor. I change my plea voluntarily."

"Are you prepared at this time to enter a plea?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

THE COURT: To the charge of murder in the first degree, you, shortly after you stalked her and broke into her hotel room, struck Nico Ariel Slater, repeatedly on various parts of her body, and then shot her in cold blood, then manipulating the crime scene to that of a suicide attempt on December 17th, 2014, rape in the first degree, attempted vehicular manslaughter, kidnapping, holding for ransom, possession of a deadly weapon, falsifying government documents, identity theft, providing false information to the police, embezzlement in the first degree, assault, intent to murder and escaping a federal prison how do you plead, guilty or not guilty?

"I did strike her, yes, Your Honor."

"Mr. Ambrossi, I'll ask you again. To the charge of murder in the first degree for the death of Nico Ariel Slater, 1 count rape in the first degree, 1 count attempted vehicular manslaughter, 1 count kidnapping, 1 count holding for ransom, 1 count possession of a deadly weapon, 1 count falsifying government documents, 1 count identity theft, 1 count providing false information to the police, 1 count embezzlement in the third degree, 1 count assault, 1 count intent to murder and 1 count escape of a federal prison , how do you plead? Guilty or not guilty?

"I plead Guilty, Your Honor, to these charges."

"Thank you...Sentencing will resume after a 10 minute recess." Judge Donnelley hammered the gavel into the hard mahogany and dismissed everyone momentarily.

Claire squeezed his hand and Daniel looked up shortly, giving her a light smile that she returned with a nod. "Everything's going to turn out fine...That bastard is going to pay for what he did."

He nodded as well, not knowing much more to do. "I hope so."

"Well I know so." she stood up as the courtroom began to disperse and he joined her walking ahead, to the outskirts of the courtroom which was lined in marble. The kind that resonated with your footsteps as you walked as if to make you feel more powerful with every step. Within moments of being outside, he felt arms swing around him, holding for dear life, for faith, for everything.

He pulled away and kissed her from her forehead to her lips, not wanting to let her go. "I wish you would have come in."

"I don't want see him...I don't even want to hear his voice after what he put us through." Daniel nodded in understanding, leading her down to a nearby bench.

"I understand...But Willie Rodrigo is going away to jail for...for a long time...This may be your last time to take the rest of your power. See, somewhere in his sick and twisted mind, he thinks that he's won...because we don't have Nico...Because you'll never forget what happen to you, because my arm is in a sling, because of his impact...Yet he is the one standing in there with an erasable limp because an officer had to shoot him so he wouldn't shoot you...In the end, we won...We just have to make sure he knows that."

"He's probably happy with the simple fact that I had to tell the police what happened."

"Wils, if you never told them then he wouldn't be going away for as long as he is."

_"Ms. Slater if you want this charge to go through, you're going to have to tell us everything."_

_Wilhelmina shifted on her couch, not wanting to release her weakness. The one time in her life when she could really do nothing..._

_"Do you have anything to prove that intercourse took place?"_

_"I told you, that you would have to check with Vogue Security and see if they kept the tapes from the party and thereafter."_

_"I know but what I meant was__...__Do you have any DNA type of evidence, something that we could link to him?"_

_For a second, she stopped herself from saying know but remembered something._

_(Flashback)_

_It had been a silent ride and a stiff entrance into their apartment beginning with Wilhelmina running to their bedroom nearly immediately after entering the door. After putting Izak to bed, he entered that same bedroom, finding her clothes in a trash bag beside the bed. The steam escaped beneath the door and lingered in their bedroom as he changed his outfit from prisoner to a white fitting tee and jeans._

_(End of Flashback)_

_-Wait...She put the clothes in a black plastic bag. What did she do with the bag? "Excuse me." She removed herself from Daniel's grasp on her shoulders and ran up the stairs and to the attic. She silently thanked God that Daniel only looked in a few of her boxes and not the one that held her rather forgettable memories. Those that cause her nightmares, induced headaches and the wishes that it never happened. Those that still, after nearly a year...Carried a light scent of La Coda__._

"But Wils that gave you the power over him...Because he couldn't do anything but shut up and take it. And today, in this moment he can't do anything but shut up and take it...He's our bitch now." She chuckled lightly, turning her head towards his before capturing his lips in a kiss that lasted only a few seconds before the Senator peeked in.

"This is a Courthouse not a Frat house..."

They pulled apart, looking up to the older Senator. "I spent some time with that son of yours and let me tell you...He is just like you...I almost feel like, by spending time with him I'm getting back the time I missed spending with you when you were his age."

"Well I'm glad you two are getting along..." She stretched out her feet and the Senator arched his brow.

"You are lucky I don't send you in a corner somewhere like a little girl."

"What did I do?"

"You're in your third trimester and you're wearing 6 inch heels? Are you dense or are you crazy?-And you..." He plucked Daniel in his injured arm, causing him to scowl. "For letting her go out of the house like that..."

"I tried to stop her and she threw the shoe at me..."

Wilhelmina shrugged. "I'm a slave to fashion." She wore a Two-Tone (Blue and Aqua) Swirl Sandal by Giuseppe Zanotti that showcased confident color block and swirling curvaceous suede straps overlaps that weave together, shaping geometric cutouts. With that, matched a Seraphine color block dress in a sophisticated ocean palette that was perfectly accented with a teal sash all in silk that smoothed over her seemingly ever-growing bump that created a flattering fit with a double layered V-neck that toned down her new bust size courtesy of her daughter.

"You're a slave to crazy..."

"Yet you're my father...Hereditary perhaps?" They all laughed and Daniel hugged her closer.

"Are you going to come in for sentencing?"

"Daniel I don't know."

"You don't know?" The Senator exclaimed. "What do you mean you don't know, you're not afraid of him are you?"

"I just don't want it to be more detrimental than empowering..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, your last name isn't Slater it's Johnson..."

"Dad..."

"Or Jackson..."

"Or Smith..."

"Or Hill."

"Dad!"

"What's your last name?"

"Slater."

"That's right...And as your father, Senator Slater does not raise punks nor did I raise young women that will allow a bastard like Rodrigo Ambrossi intimidate them to his grace. Now you will march into that courtroom and you will look that son of a bitch in his face and you will smile...You will grin like someone just bought you a Maserati and a convertible to match."

"Will you buy me a Maserati and convertible to match?"

"Are you going to go in there or are you going to sit out here like you're afraid of something?" Wilhelmina sighed and reached for Daniel to help her up, walking back into the courtroom after the recess, still holding her breath. Once full, they sat closer to the bench and found themselves in spitting distance of Ambrossi. Coming into the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit, thick beard and a murderous look in his eyes, he looked out into those watching and affixed his eyes on Wilhelmina. He smiled and blew her a kiss.

For a second, she froze. She knew that Daniel and the Senator saw him do so and they were both wondering what she would do next, if she would respond. She smiled, thinking of her new cars and caught his kiss figuratively before balling her fist as if she crumpled it and washed her hands of it, stomping her foot as if to say she stepped on it. He looked in her direction, seeing what she did and his smile faded immediately.

She blanked out for most of the Judge Donnelley's speech, only coming back when she felt her father and Daniel squeeze both of her hands with anticipation for his sentencing.

"Mr. Ambrossi please stand...It is the decision of this court that the defendant, Rodrigo Eduardo Ambrossi, be hereby sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 150 years, consisting of 20 years for all major counts and 5 years per minor offense, all to run consecutively to each other. As a technical matter, the sentence must be expressed on the judgment of months. 150 months is equivalent to 1,800 months. A long sentence will not restore the lives to those you tormented. A lengthy sentence will not bring back the daughter that you stole from a family. But it will be piece of mind that you, Mr. Ambrossi, will never bother them again. Mr. Ambrossi you have the right to appeal at least certain aspects of this judgment and convictions. You will have ten days to do so. If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint one for you. We are adjourned."

She froze, unable to move, barley able to breathe. One hundred and fifty years...One thousand, eight hundred months...That man was never getting out. In one drop, it all dawned on her. It all came to her, it all hit her...The magnitude of what he had done through the reflection of the magnitude he would have to pay. He stole a year of her life...He stole her child and for a moment there, he stole her sanity. He had stripped her of what she thought she knew best; herself. She was left with a pale slate of what she didn't recognize yet had to carry around as her template for everyone to see. Because of him, she lost herself. And she had to get it back.

Like a mighty rushing wind, she was roused to the fact that there must have been something wrong with him. Something had to be wrong. But then again, he had Sofia as a cousin, being his accomplice through the whole ordeal. At times, she just felt so foolish, naive. She could smell him but didn't know that it was him. What? A little makeup, face reconstruction and special effects make-up yet she still couldn't see past his plastic smile and to the black heart that seemed to rot from the inside out.

Too many thoughts. Too much analyzation. It was just too much. Just like the last couple months had just been too much. Obviously enough, too much when she felt a painful tightening in her stomach. A tightening that was months too early. Again she froze.

Was he going to be the cause of another tragedy?

Was he going to snatch something else away from her?

She tugged at Daniel's hand as he stood, shaking the District Attorney's hand. He leaned over and she whispered in his ear. "We have to go..."

"Go where?" He questioned, bending before her to look into her eyes. She stared at him fiercely, a flickering of fear that only he could identify, flashing in the grey of her eyes.

They had to go.

**OoO**

**Part II**

I lay there, thinking. Thinking about the past, the future but not the present. I just can't seem to fathom the present. God, I hate that bed, well I have grown to hate it with the passing days and weeks, almost growing into months. It is painful to not be able to work through my stress; literally. I need, I need desperately to feel the glass beneath my hands as I rest them upon my desk maybe with a smirk, perhaps a glare but whatever it is, it would be special. I had never been desperate, nor had I ever needed someone else. I was an independent woman, well I thought that I used to be. Now I didn't know who I was. Was I Wanda? Or Wilhelmina? Willie? Or Mrs. Meade? The old me could be felt slipping through the dividends of my finger, crystal by crystal in an impatient pace as if to emphasize each trait that was slowly disintegrating. Children? I used to eat children. Daniel? I used to eat him too. Obeying doctor's orders? Never. I still am granted at least 2 hours up every day and each time I went outside, I made sure to be in a height that towered Daniel and scared the hell out of Smith.

I'm rambling now, switching from topic to topic because I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about my pain; I don't want to talk about my joy. I don't want to talk about the weight that lifted from my chest when I heard a hundred and fifty years...I can't describe it. I truly can't and I refuse to try because there is no point. You won't get it. You won't understand, be able to contemplate the boulder that was on my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't live. I was trapped, I was limited. I had allowed this man to trap me in my own life, my own box. I had become a hollow reflection of what I used to know when I looked in the mirror. Sometimes I feel as though, if I reached my hand into the other end of my reflection, my hand would go through it. Because what I was staring at couldn't possibly be me nor could it be my own outcome. It can't be. I could not have let myself walk out into a fire and just come out bare ashes of myself.

Is it a good thing? Is change a good thing? That is what I wonder. If Suzuki St. Pierre or some other idiot reporter were to see me at home, actually enjoying the company of the assistants. Saw me with my children, saw me shed a tear...Would I be out of character or are they just out of touch...With what really matters. If I am not barking at someone every minute of my life, have I conformed to the way of the world or has the world tried to conform me to what they think my way should be. What to do, what to do? Do I maintain this crying, hormonal, married mother that I've become or slowly creep back into the stony, cold and alone being that I had succumbed to? Many people don't understand that things had to happen for me to be the way that I am. Events had to take place, effects had to affect me, people had to touch me in a way, say things in a way. I am a product of the worst that the world has to offer. People want to be like me but...I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. The world is confused as to who I am. As to whom I want to be, as to who I used to be. How can I be out of character, not myself when the persona I've created isn't even evidence of who I really am

I have no orthodox position. I have no 'supposed to be', no routine. I can't. My life has never been storybook and I am convinced that it never will be. But do not judge me. Don't you dare judge me for who I have become, don't criticize me for being happy. This is me happy. If a happy me has to occasionally drop a tear or so than godammit I will because that does not mean that I am weak, that means that I am human. I. Am. Human. As super and immortal as I want to be, I am human. I am more than my jewelry, than my company, than what you can see. I have layers, I have facets. I am...a diamond. It sounds conceited but it's true. If you hold me in the light, sure I will glisten for you. But if you turn, you'll see the little faces reflecting back at you. You'll see the small nicks that are yet to be buffed out. Sure, show me off and I'll impress, but I'll remain the same as I was before. There will be no change. There will never be a change. Children don't look up to me. Teens please don't idolize me. Adults don't wish to be me. It took more than what you know for me to get here. You don't want to start off as coal. No matter what the outcome looks like.

So here I am, fat as hell. This pisses me off. 20-odd years of never eating and then one night of mind-blowing, great day in the morning, aneurysm spurring sex and now I'm fifty fucking pounds heavier? I don't get this math. In fact, I've never gotten math but I'll never admit that. Ever.

The only Brightside is that I like to rebel and do what I want to do...It's been 3 weeks and I am tired of not being on my feet so I am going shopping with Claire for reasons I don't know. No I don't like, her, okay stop asking that! IT is for the sake of Daniel that we get along and she is aiding me in my escape so that I can get the hell out of this house.

Out of the bed, down the hallway and down the stairs, one by one, holding my robe close to me as I peak around the divider of the walls to see Daniel's back to me as he attempts to pack a briefcase. I don't know why this man carries one when he knows that he doesn't need it. What work does he do again?

So back to my fugitive plans in which I successfully make it down the stairs just as he turns around. Okay, smile, be cool. Kiss on the cheek and push him out of the door. Okay now he is out of dodge. Waiting for him to pull out of the driveway...Going...Going...Gone. Okay he's gone. Now I can shed this robe and reveal this red clingy dress, sleeveless before I throw on a nice little black blazer, now I'm ready to go but not before slipping into-Really Claire is she really honking her horn? Now I am really going to be slow.

So I took my time and as I come out of the house, I can see Claire tapping her bony ass fingers on the hood as she stands beside her car like I was supposed to rush for her. I am not the Porshia de Rossi to your Ellen de Generes. You rush for me, not the other way around.

"Could you be any more inconsiderate? The world does not stop just because you can only walk 2 miles an hour." The old coot snipped, though lacking the usual nasty undertone that was replaced by a facetious, subtle smirk.

"Well I'm sorry dear but I had to prepare myself to behold the hideousness that is your face. No man can face that horror story without a warning and make it out alive."

"Is that why you look like you just stepped off of the set of a Twilight movie? Easy on the blush Cullen."

Before I could even retort, I start to see blonde heads in the back seat and I almost run back upstairs. Okay, I can only tolerate Claire for 3 hours what the hell am I going to do with Claire, Alexis and Amanda!? Really? REALLY?!

This is going to be a long ass day...I can already tell.

**PW**

These bitches have worn me out. I am sorry to say it, but theses bitches-okay, okay...Ladies...Exuding bitchiness...Have worn me out. I cannot look at another onesie, coo at another mini shoe, try on another shoe, tell Amanda she looks like a whore in a dress, and tell Alexis she looks like she is trying too hard or Claire that she is not 40 anymore, again! I can't do it!

Ugh, now the paparazzo is outside and it is a mob! This is ridiculous. Can't we go anywhere without them having to document every damn thing, geesh it's not necessary and it is beginning to annoy me. I may need to call that Wilheldiva thing again. This needs to stop.

"Oh my God, we have got to get out of here. I might buy the whole store!" I see Amanda scurry past me and before I can roll my eyes, I see a silver glint reflect off of a silver card in her hand and without hesitation; my foot juts out and trips the bitch.

Thud.

Ha, she hit that floor harder than I expected.

"Wilhelmina, what the hell is wrong with you?" Claire exclaims as Amanda looks at me like a deer caught in the headlights, holding out the silver rectangle. "Just because you don't fit anything in this store, doesn't mean you have to ruin it for everyone else."

"Actually it does, especially when I'm—"I snatch my goddamn credit card from her thimble fingers. "—paying for it!"

I get up to leave and hear Claire bellowing behind me. "Where the hell are you going?"

"Getting the hell out of here?"

"How? I drove." She smirks.

And I smirk too...

Dangling her keys in the air.

**OoO**

How the hell did we end up back at Claire's damn house? I have no goddamn idea. All I do know is that Alexis and Amanda are strutting all over the living room, prancing around in their new clothes and modeling them like teenage pains in the ass and it is beginning to run the little patience I have left. It's been 4 hours, I've doubled my time out and quite frankly, I am beginning to see their necks break in my head as if to foreshadow what is to come but unfortunately I think I already have two strikes. Damn.

"Don't you just love it?" If I hear that phrase from Amanda one more time, I swear on all that is gracious and holy, I will burn down an orphanage. Okay, yes perhaps that was a bit harsh but I can't take I anymore and I need to go lie down before I kill someone. Ugh, pregnancy is a total bitch, especially the latter months when all you can do is bitch about back pain and headaches and all of this crap. AND, on top of all of that I can't help but feel a tightening in my chest the longer I sit here. That's it, I'm going on.

"I am going to call myself a town car." Pulling out my Blackberry, I go to dial the number and Alexi snatches it from my grips and the only thing keeping her from becoming bald-headed is the fact that my reflexes are not what they used to be.

"Oh c'mon Wilhelmina, why do you have to be such a Debbie-downer?!"

Getting up, I can feel a dull ache my back begin to take affect and I try to shake it off but can't help the impulse to sit back down. "Give me my phone Alexis."

"Why, do you think you over did it?"

"Over did what? All she did was sit on the couch for an hour!" Dumb-ass Claire chimes in.

I want to be snarky and reply but this pain just knocks the wind out me and to be quite honest, for a second it did scare me. I pause for a second because I can't let this group lead on to believe that something's wrong. They'll all have heart attacks and not that I mind Claire croaking, but I can only handle so much death at one time. Enough is enough. Seriously.

All I need to do is stare at Alexis, the same stare that I give cocky men that really…..really…;piss me off. She hands over the phone and I walk out to the foyer just as another pain hits me. And it's not dull…It's a contraction. A sharp contraction. A sharp contraction that has me doubled over the stairway railing breathing it out until the feeling passes but I don't know when that will happen.

Maybe I should call Smith, I don't know. I just know what this is, is not a good feeling. This painful tightening like someone's twisting my muscles tighter and tighter, the curvature of each movement bringing more and more pain that I can almost handle until it's like a peak and I can almost swear my legs nearly gave out with the simple fact that it hasn't stopped.

"Okay now you're scaring me…."

As the pain subsides, I lift my head to see Claire staring there looking like Jason had just walked into her home with a pick ax. "Claire you've had three children."

"Not that…." She moves to bend down, ripping the rug from beneath my feet flawlessly, which almost tripped me by the way. "This….I just got this rug…Imported straight from Egypt and if your water broke on it I would never be able to forgive you."

"I'll be sure to bury you in it."

"Weak Wilhelmina…." She whispers as I sit on the second step, clearly uncomfortable. I would never be caught dead sitting on any step of any kind, let alone in Claire Meade's house but I'm beginning to think that this is not false labor. I'm beginning to think that I am 35 weeks pregnant and going into—Son of a bitch, that was not expected…Okay this is not good…this is not good at all….I'll…I'll call the Daniels….They said to call-…..Call them….Okay this is labor…this definitely is labor…This is not good….not good at all…

"Claire….Claire, get your bony ass back in here!"

**OoO**

Okay so I'm sitting in on creative meeting for Player and my phone rings. I ignore the first one because, like I said I'm in a meeting for Player and if they see me pick up the phone then everybody will be on the phone texting and that is not the message that I want to send so I wait…And my phone keeps vibrating…and vibrating…and vibrating. Sneaking it under the table, I look to see three missed calls from Willie and I have to call her back.

Dialing…Dialing…Stepping out of the conference room…dialing.._"Hello?"_

"Hey, Wils what's w—"

"_Are you trying to fucking kill me?! Slow the hell down you old bat!"_

"Hello?"

"…_If it was up to me, you would have walked to the hospital and hopefully gotten murdered by a __hitchhiker!"_

"HELLO!"

"_Hello?"_

"Willie, what the hell is going on?"

"_I need you to meet me at Lenox Hill."_

"Wh- Why? What's the matter, what's going on?"

"_I broke a nail Daniel, what the hell do you think? I'm in f-"_

And her phone cuts off only to leave me running out of the Mode offices and to Lenox Hill where there is a major rush hour…and the street is blocked off…Oh this is not good…Not good at all. And now someone is calling me but it's from an unnamed number so I choose to ignore it because I'm screwed.

**OoO**

Skidding through the steps, the marble seeming to crush beneath each foot but he paid it no attention with the hesitation that he might slow. He couldn't slow down, not at that moment, not when he was two feet from the nurses' station and in his mind, two seconds from becoming a father again. Like sliding into Home, his hands glided across the counter as he was met with the edge plunging into his stomach for his forceful approach. The on-staff nurse looked up, a brow raised in a fashion that shortly reminded him of her. "Slater." He spoke breathlessly as the nurse nodded, typing onto a thinly made keyboard. "Family?"

"Husband."

The nurse looked up briefly, staring for a moment before sucking in her breath. "This is the twenty-first century..." She mumbled.

He ignored her, his only concentration being the tiny piece of paper that she extended towards him, telling of the floor and room number.

After a long elevator ride and a couple of winding hallways he was perplexed to find himself on the trauma floor, standing in front of room 570, the name _Slater _etched onto a dry-erase board in a sloppily handwriting that almost seemed slurred in a hurry.

With a deep-breath he opened the door and found a sight that shocked him, frightened him even. IT was the pale, limp body of Charles E. Slater. The Senator's eyes weighed heavy in face, sunken below his brows as Daniel approached him cautiously, listening to the slow pace at which the machine beeped, signaling each heartbeat. His face was lined with an ashy soot that outlined each scratch and bruise on his face, the rest of his body in casts and metal settings as if to temporarily keep him together.

He jumped back at a cough that escaped from his lips before watching as his mouth opened to speak but all that came out was a slow croak. The Senator's eyes batted open to reveal the yellow whites of his eyes that seemed to be haunted by the sins of his life. "Da...Dan...Boy..." HE coughed, having to put a spin on his name. "Your...your mother..."

"What about my mother?"

"She came...she...she came to me..Know this..." He wheezed lightly, closing his eyes shut as a pain coursed through his body from the slight movement. "She told me...and...she needs me..."

"My mother?"

"No...Wan...Wanda...she needs me...I'm a donor..."

"What are you saying?"

"I...I want to give her back the life...the life I stole from her..."

Perplexed, Daniel's brows furrowed briefly for the moment that he was allotted before her hear that same slow beep stream into a constant noise just as white coats and scrubs began to rush the vicinity, pushing him out confused and unaware. But little did he know, The Senator was not the only Slater coding in the building.

**OoO**

"Alexis." Willie called out softly, her eyes closed as she lay still on the stretcher like bed. Alexis peered up quickly before checking all three of her phones. "Still nothing."

She sighed, turning her head in frustration as she tried to keep it together for the sake of appearance. Too many eyes staring at her, waiting for her reaction and what was next. Or were they?

"Wilhelmina I'm sure he'll be-" Claire's words ceased when she saw her once enemy grip at the railing, knuckles paling in pain as a wave of intensity slithered down her spine and stillness hushed the room. Once it passed, she began again. "Are you sure that you don't want an epidural?"

"I can't have an epidural!That's what. That's what I have...That's what I have told all of you! Why am I even still here?! Why am I here? Where is Smith?! I-I can't do this."

"Wilhelmina calm down!"

"Calm-calm down you?"

"Willie, why didn't you call me?!" Marc's slender figure marched through the room in a weird grey sweat ensemble, his brows bunched as he rushed to her side, looking around. "You call ol' corn top here but you don't call me?!"

"I didn't call her Marc, she was...she was... there...And I didn't call you because I did not want to both-"

"Don't bullshit me Wilhelmina. The first person that you call after your husband is me. " He knelt down beside her, allowing her to grip his hand. "Besides, where is Daniel?"

"We have no idea." Claire answered, looking back to Wilhelmina only to see her eyes steadily closing. "Wilhelmina."

She didn't answer, instead the only sound being able to resonate was the streaming beep that flooded the room with white coats and scrubs.

**OoO**

After a confusing manhunt to find his wife, many nurses, attempting to keep her location a secret and other nurses who were still unaware of her whereabouts, he stumbled upon a waiting room in front of the nursery that called him with a familiar voice. "Daniel!"

He looked up, jogging towards the group until he was met by a pair of arms that wrapped around him tightly without a second hesitation. He pulled away shortly, turning to look at the glass that was an open book of newborns, smiling, gurgling, cooing, new souls. He looked back at them,, questions his eyes.

"She's, she's in surgery son." Claire gripped at his shoulders as Alexis stood behind him, Marc and Ariel sitting alone in the corner

"Surgery? C-Section?"

Claire nodded, her eyes glistening as she looked at the reflected concern in her son's eyes with a longing for validation that she was alright, only assurance that she would be alright. HE just needed to know.

"Yes...a C-Section...And...And a heart transplant."

"W...Wha-What?! A heart transplant? She was fine! Her heart was fine!"

"Until she went into labor and it accelerated the damage that was being done on her heart until it gave out."

"Her heart gave...Her heart gave out?"

"Yes but she got a donor very quickly, they said that they've never had anything like that happen before."

"Well who was it?"

Before she could answer, their attention was stolen by a red eyes Marc, looking wrapped in plastic as he snatched his scrub cap off. "They kicked me out after the baby was born..." HE spoke tearily, clearly having issues with leaving her alone like that and in such an unsure situation.

When they looked, Daniel's face was pressed up against the glass, looking, scanning each name tag until he found the empty glass bassinet with **MEADE **printed across the front. He watched as a smiling nurse, soothed a fussy little girl in her arms before placing her in the adjacent basinet. Her eyes opened, revealing a crystal presence that would light up the room. The button nose, deep brown curls as her eyes opened and closed was all he needed to make his heart overjoyed. And to also bring him to a realization. He would give his life for his little girl.

Just as the Senator had.

**OoO**

_"How is she?"_

"She...She's taking it day by day..."

_"I know this will be hard for you son."_

"More so for her though...

_"This influx of funerals is beginning to take a toll on my emotions..."_

"Well hopefully the pain is over.."

_"For now that is...Alright son, I love you."_

"Alright, I love you too_ mom."_

Daniel sighed, pressing the end button on his phone before putting his phone in his inner breast pocket. Wearing a full black suit, concluded with a black dress shirt and tie, he went upstairs silently, making his way to their bedroom where he found her standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, her blouse open to the usual three buttons that she left.

"Is something wrong?"

She is silent, eerily staring ahead at her chest, seemingly flawless until she grabs a cotton ball and wets it quietly with a dab of alcohol. Her breath is shaky, nearing an edge as she wipes it across the center of her bosom to reveal a long scar, reaching however long but beginning fairly high. The bleu of her eyes began to morph into a hollow grey as they glistened in a shine. She sniffled, throwing the cotton swab away before she ran a hand over her memory, her permanent reminder.

"You're beautiful, you know that right?" HE assured, stepping closer until he was directly behind her, his reflection being shielded by her own. "I know that you are used to making your...assets known but you're gorgeous regardless."

She shook her head, bowing her head as s few tears slipped from her face. IT wasn't the vanity. It wasn't how she saw herself now that was affecting her. That scar had done nothing but humbled her. It didn't harm her. That was not the issue.

IT was what it represented.

She spun to face him, her eyes wet along with her cheeks as she shook her head, hands now pressing against his chest. "I can...I can never forget what he did for me."

**OoO**

"I have...I have never been big on public appearances. Nor public feeling but I...I feel the need to inform you all of the...man that was Charles Slater..I did not plan on speaking but this morning I was brought to the difficult realization that my father will never be forgotten, in my heart at least. Because his heart is my heart. My father died from injuries suffered in a horrific car crash but his death gave me life. For years I...I punished him for his issues that I felt were unnecessary. I punched him for not being good enough without realizing that he felt that he wasn't good enough...I thought that I was being rejected when in reality I was being protected, protected from his imperfections but unfortunately I didn't see it that way. All I saw were more imperfections. I never saw who my father was until I woke up one day and was told that I had a daughter...6 pounds, 8 ounces...and a new heart by way of my father. I'm not going to stand here and tell you how loving he was, or how cuddly. I'm not going to tell you that he used to read me bed time stories at night or tucked me in when I thought there was a monster in my bed, because then I would be lying. MY father did not know how to love, he thought love was found in the quantity that you gave rather than the quality in which you gave it. But in the last moments of his life, my father told my husband that he wanted to give me back the life that he stole form me. And that alone, that alone was able to erase whatever happened in the past and look forward to the future that I now have because of my father."

After a processional, a eulogy, remarks from the family, being that of her speech and a processional out courtesy my the United States militia and a rainy burial, St. Luke's cathedral was once again filled with mourners for a repass in which politicians and divas gathered to grieve and offer support.

"Mom, I'm so sorry..." Ariel approached her mother, holding Izak by the hand as he stood in his all black suit, the other handholding sleeping baby girl. "

"It's okay, I understand..." Wilhelmina nodded, bending down to kiss Izak on the cheek before peeking in on her sweetheart. "We've had our share of funerals this year, I didn't expect you to attend."

She smiled widely as she lifted her daughter from Ariel's grasps, swaddling her in her arms as she was covered in a black and white sheepskin blanket. "I don't know if I want her out in this weather..." She kissed her nose as she slept, seeing Ariel stare ahead at them. "Charlieeeee..."She cooed.

"Please do not call her that...Her name is Amalia Paige." Daniel protested, coming up behind them. He kissed Willie's forehead, giving her a light squeeze on the shoulder after escaping the drowning depths of conversation from the roaming politicians.

"You got to pick her legal name so I'll call her whatever I want." Willie smirked as he kept his arm wrapped around her before taking a glance at her face.

"Hey..." He whipped out his handkerchief, dabbing below her eyes and at her cheek. "I see why you don't cry often."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Shut up." He smiled before kissing her gently, not to close as she held Amalia against her chest. Just as quickly, he glanced down at Izak who never moved and wasn't even phased by his parents PDA.

"Someone's come a long way..."Daniel mumbled before picking him up and tossing him in the air, causing him to laugh and giggle with a smile before being settled on his arm. "Willie..."

Daniel called out, looking at her stoic appearance before tracking her view to that of Renee who just walked in. Their eyes met and Daniel reached for Amalia, reaching down careful to pick up his daughter as to not wake her at the same time.

"Renee."

"Wilhelmina..." Renee spoke coldly, but only for a second. They stared ahead at each other as if to challenge one another. Who would break first, who would give in. Some thought it would be Wilhelmina until they saw a small quiver in Rene's lips before she covered her eyes with her hands and walked towards her sister. "I'm so sorry." Wilhelmina's arms opened without a second thought and all she could do was wrap her arms around her and allow of her own tears to fall as well.

"I'm so sorry...It was my fault, I pushed her I..."

"Shhh..." Wilhelmina patted her back, sucking in a deep breath, before pulling away. "It was not your fault...It was...complicated..."

"Something that I will have to explain later."

Without a fight, Renee nodded, still holding onto Wilhelmina's hand as Daniel stood off to the side, watching cautiously after handing off the kids to Ariel.

"Baby, I'm sorry it took me so long, the parking is cra...zy..." Wilhelmina's neck whipped around at the voice she heard and almost stumbled back when she saw Grant Shepard standing before her. And instantly the questions began.

_Is he talking to Renee?_

_Did he just call Renee Baby?"_

_On the hand that I'm holding, why is there a wedding band?_

And why is it that the drama never ends with...

**PRETTY**

**WILLIE**

_You all cannot even begin to fathom how hard and challenging it was to write this story, have it be cohesive, stop caring about reviews, stop caring about other people and just write. Ugly Betty has been gone for more than 2 years now and we're all still secretly wishing it back and we all hope that ABC or some network will one day pick it back up. But while it's gone, man writers have stopped writing, many have stopped caring. Others have lost interest, while others have moved on to other fandoms...Couples that are still on the air. Danimina has been extremely good to me and I am not saying that this is by far my last story about them but please do not be surprised if you see a Cricket/Blake GCB story pop up on here one day. In the meantime, the possibility of a trilogy for the Pretty Willie series has arose and I am still weighing my options of whether or not I want to pursue that road once I get settled into my Sophomore year. I'll keep you posted ;) However, I will write Danimina for as long as I have the endeavor to write fan fiction and I appreciate every single reviewer and every single person that encouraged me. You truly don't know how much it meant to me and I hope to read some more stories other than my own. The Danimina fandom must go on lol_

_I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. _

_Love, _

_**Nia**_


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